The Bush Theatre has announce that this summer it will be hosting a run of The B*easts, written and performed by Monica Dolan (W1A, Appropriate Adult, The Witness For The Prosecution).
Three previews of the production will take place in Theatre’s recently refurbished Attic on 26 – 28 July, before opening at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Referencing the modern obsession with putting your own child first against our responsibility as a society towards our children as a whole, this dark tale – written by and starring the BAFTA award-winning actress – explores how far one mum will go to put what her child wants first.
Dolan’s first solo play, a searing ‘What If?’ story, explores the pornification of our culture and the sexualisation of our children. In a society where sexuality and gender are such a huge part of who we are, how we identify, and how we are defined, The B*easts looks at how soon is too soon to strive for perceived sexual ideals.
Can the journey to reach that supposed perfection start before we are even consciously aware of the journey we have begun?
The B*easts follows the repercussions of an event which could plausibly present itself and unfold within today’s culture. It invites us to examine our culture from an extreme perspective, taking a circumstance that we see as abhorrent and abnormal and showing how it can germinate in what we have come to regard as normality. As Tessa, the central character says, ‘you only have the choices you can see’. So when, and how, do you start noticing that your moral compass may be being directed by popular culture?
Tickets for the Bush Theatre run are now on sale and available to buy here.