Flying Ant Day
by Joey Ellis
Dates: Thursday 6th March to Saturday 8th March
Times: All evening performances will begin at 19:30. All matinee performances will begin at 14:30pm.
Venue: Rex Doyle Studio Theatre
Duration: TBC
BOOKINGS FOR THIS PRODUCTION WILL OPEN ON WEDNESDAY 22nd JANUARY AT 12:00PM.
Synopsis: Human beings are the only animals capable of contemplating their own mortality. And yet, somehow, in the very recent past, we have lost the practical wisdom of what happens when we die. More importantly, we have made a conscious decision to stop talking about it. More than that, we ignore it. Flying ants only have 24 hours to live—then they die. On a hot summer’s day, the flying ants appear from the ground in an attempt to squeeze as much life as they can out of their twenty-four hours. At the same time, a family arrives at a hospital room on the 11th floor to say goodbye to their dying mum and grandma.
As each member of the family arrives, so does more and more physical and emotional baggage, creating an atmosphere of hostility where grief is impossible—or even better, ignored. Luckily, the dying mother, aware of her children’s inability to grieve, hired a death doula to help guide them through the process. However, as the hot summer day draws to a close and the flying ants start to die, the family takes back control of their mother’s death and reconnects—over the murder and subsequent cover-up of the doula’s death instead.
Set half in the real world and half in the afterlife, this dark comedy explores the human trials of grieving and just how disconnected we, as a nation, have become in recognising and accepting our own destiny.
Genre: Dark comedy
Age Recommendation: 12 and above
Setting: A hospital room and the afterlife
Themes: Loss, family, existentialism, coming of age, addiction
This live production features MFA Acting students in collaboration with BA Theatre Production and MA Stage Management students.
Director: Joey Ellis
If you require accessible seating or have any other enquiries including booking difficulties, please email:
[email protected] or call 01483 686876.
