FULL LENGTH PLAY
Dramedy
*Co-Written with Kristine Johanson*
Dramedy
*Co-Written with Kristine Johanson*
“Unions are made and unmade every day. Why is this one so bloody special?”
How do you tell the story of a secession? A rebellion? A departure?
How do you leave?
Amsterdam, 2017. Three strangers arrive from London searching for a new home when they no longer recognize their old one. Philip wants to put distance between himself and an increasingly hostile society; Annemijn returns to reconnect with her first home after 10 years abroad; and Moira arrives with a wounded heart, trying to break away from a painful past. In that search, all three are confronted by people and events who call into question what it means to belong.
Looking into the heart of Brexit, the comedy-drama The B Word stages how the desires and fears of belonging and the struggle for identity determine individual and political futures.
CHARACTER INFORMATION
PHILIP BOWLER - Male, British, 20s, Biracial (Black & Caucasian). Speaks in RP.
Philip wants to find a people and a place where he belongs, as negative reactions to his ethnicity and sexuality are driving him to seek a new life elsewhere.
Philip wants to find a people and a place where he belongs, as negative reactions to his ethnicity and sexuality are driving him to seek a new life elsewhere.
MIKE BOWLER - Male, British, 50s, Caucasian. Speaks in non-RP.
Mike is a lonely widower who has a strong sense of his (white) British identity; he also loves his son Philip deeply and has trouble expressing his love and need for him.
Mike is a lonely widower who has a strong sense of his (white) British identity; he also loves his son Philip deeply and has trouble expressing his love and need for him.
JAMES FENCHURCH - Male, British, 20s.
As a young gay man, James is searching for acceptance in his small English community; he believes that the values attached to the Leave campaign provide a strong basis for that belonging and lead him to extreme actions.
JOOST SMITS - Male, Dutch, 30s–50s.
Joost is trying to make sense of an increasingly international work environment that at times excludes him in a place where he should feel at home.
LOES BAKKER - Female, Dutch, 40s-50s.
Loes is a researcher and therapist who spends more time writing about the lives of others than living her own story.
ANNEMIJN DE BOER - Female, Dutch, 30s-40s.
Sarcastic, witty, and direct, Annemijn returns to Amsterdam after discovering London was no longer her home and realizes that what makes a home requires more than just an address.
Sarcastic, witty, and direct, Annemijn returns to Amsterdam after discovering London was no longer her home and realizes that what makes a home requires more than just an address.
ROBA HUISMAN - Female, Syrian, late 20s-40s.
Roba created a new life for herself after escaping war-torn Syria, only to discover that her status as a refugee continues to both define and separate her from the new community.
Roba created a new life for herself after escaping war-torn Syria, only to discover that her status as a refugee continues to both define and separate her from the new community.
MOIRA KENNEDY - Female, British, 30s-40s.
Having spent her life in London, the sensitive and at times anxious Moira is benefitting from Brexit in the short-term -- and must confront the long-term personal implications.
Having spent her life in London, the sensitive and at times anxious Moira is benefitting from Brexit in the short-term -- and must confront the long-term personal implications.
THEMES
Brexit, immigration, belonging, racism, homophobia
PRODUCTIONS
Orange Theatre Company, Amsterdam The Netherlands - 2018
IMAGES
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
Orange Theatre Company
