Pink loves Rolly. Rolly loves Pink. And Pink loves getting bombed off her face.
Sisters from the same nest. Both trapped in a tiny rotting world. Both cuffed to a past that refuses to release them.
One wants out. The other needs her in.
Trouble is that when you complete each other, you’re nothing on your own.
Vivienne Franzmann made her Royal Court debut in 2012 with The Witness. Her other credits include Mogadishu at the Royal Exchange Manchester and the Lyric Hammersmith for which she won the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting and was awarded the George Devine Award in 2010 as well as receiving the Pearson Playwright Bursary for the Royal Court in 2012. Vivienne was Resident Playwright at Clean Break. As part of the development process for Pests, she undertook five residencies in women’s prisons, secure mental health and community settings.
Lucy Morrison directs. Lucy is Head of Artistic Programme for Clean Break. For the company she has directed and developed Billy the Girl by Katie Hims (Soho Theatre); Little on the inside by Alice Birch (Almeida Festival, Latitude 2013); it felt empty when the heart went at first but it is alright now by Lucy Kirkwood (Arcola Theatre); This Wide Night by Chloë Moss (Soho Theatre / Theatre Live Newcastle / Plymouth Drum Theatre). Lucy originated and commissioned the Charged and Re-Charged seasons (Soho Theatre) in which she directed Fatal Light by Chloë Moss and Doris Day by EV Crowe. Alongside heading up Clean Break’s Artistic Programme, Lucy was Artistic Director of the Almeida Festival 2013. She was formerly Literary Manager of Paines Plough, where she worked with many of the country’s most exciting playwrights including Dennis Kelly, Abi Morgan, Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill and Jack Thorne. Other directing credits include Housekeeping (Southwark Playhouse / Latitude Festival 2011) and Product (Traverse Theatre / Royal Court Theatre Upstairs / European Tour).
Read the interview with Vivienne Franzmann in The Guardian, 5 March 2014
Age guidance 16+
Running time: 1hr 45min
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Pests is part of the Royal Court’s Jerwood New Playwrights programme, which aims to discover and support the next generation of world class playwrights, supported by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation.
Image credit: Dan Bass