spoons

by Ben Firke

It’s the summer of 2016, and the gig economy has commodified everything in Brooklyn, including intimacy. Brad, a sportswriter struggling with social anxiety, retains the services of Molly, a professional cuddler with a wry bedside manner. As the two form a fragile bond over the course of their sessions, they begin to struggle with their self-imposed boundaries and their preconceived ideas about what a friendship...

It’s the summer of 2016, and the gig economy has commodified everything in Brooklyn, including intimacy. Brad, a sportswriter struggling with social anxiety, retains the services of Molly, a professional cuddler with a wry bedside manner. As the two form a fragile bond over the course of their sessions, they begin to struggle with their self-imposed boundaries and their preconceived ideas about what a friendship really is. A meditation on loneliness, recovery, and trust, spoons takes a deep dive into the chaos of seeking companionship in our lonely age.

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spoons

Recommended by

  • Aly Kantor: spoons

    This play felt like a grown-up, contemporary riff on Catcher in the Rye - broken humans seeking connection in a broken world.

    Both of these fascinating characters have clear and obvious needs - and they SEEM to have found a way to meet them. This play is the slow, thoroughly compelling, completely character-driven reveal of all the ways that is and isn't true.

    'Spoons' sits in the sweet spot between foreign and familiar. These characters have wonderfully unique stories that are somehow beautifully, painfully relatable. How much authenticity do we really owe others in a transactional...

    This play felt like a grown-up, contemporary riff on Catcher in the Rye - broken humans seeking connection in a broken world.

    Both of these fascinating characters have clear and obvious needs - and they SEEM to have found a way to meet them. This play is the slow, thoroughly compelling, completely character-driven reveal of all the ways that is and isn't true.

    'Spoons' sits in the sweet spot between foreign and familiar. These characters have wonderfully unique stories that are somehow beautifully, painfully relatable. How much authenticity do we really owe others in a transactional relationship under late capitalism?

  • Jan Rosenberg: spoons

    This is a really beautiful, concise play about what happens when we let ourselves get too close. Or when we suddenly let someone in. I loved that this was a play about a transactional relationship between 2 strangers and it was never about sex and never went into romcom territory.

    This is a really beautiful, concise play about what happens when we let ourselves get too close. Or when we suddenly let someone in. I loved that this was a play about a transactional relationship between 2 strangers and it was never about sex and never went into romcom territory.

  • David Hansen: spoons

    “Spoons” is an urgent and intimate two-hander, one with crackling, witty dialogue and compelling, charismatic characters. It walks a careful line down the middle, present issues of trauma, sex work and compassion from male and female perspectives. I would love to see this performed on-stage.

    “Spoons” is an urgent and intimate two-hander, one with crackling, witty dialogue and compelling, charismatic characters. It walks a careful line down the middle, present issues of trauma, sex work and compassion from male and female perspectives. I would love to see this performed on-stage.

View all 4 recommendations

Character Information

  • Brad
    Character Age
    27
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • Molly
    Character Age
    30
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Female

Development History

  • Type Workshop, Organization The Shelter, Year 2017

Production History

  • Type Professional, Organization The Tank, Year 2018