There, where it is least expected, that's where it lurks: the Tickle Monster, a sinister figure in spooky attire and with an empty face. It appears wherever people are in distress—not to help, but to tickle the suffering. *gulp* It shows up where all the night pharmacies are closed, when you urgently need a fever reducer, or when you wake up at night with such severe stomach pains that only a trip to the emergency room is left. A small matter really, and *snap*, just like that, you spend a night in the hospital's dying room.

Abendzettel: Das Kitzelmonster 

The Tickle Monster deals with the everyday fears—the moment when the certainties of our daily life lose their validity, even if only in our imaginations and dreams. In this moment, a chasm to hell opens in civilization, and demons and ghosts from a long-past age come to haunt us.

Do we change for the better through the confrontation with death and grow beyond ourselves, or are we left merely confused? The Tickle Monster leaves behind a feeling of confusion and fear, far removed from any positive transformation or catharsis.

The Tickle Monster is a stage play by author Barbi Marković, commissioned by Peira and directed by Alexander Bauer. It is a premiere of the play, taking the audience into the deepest corners of the human psyche, making us laugh in the process.