Bunyip

by Zoe Lasden-Lyman

A mother invites her dead son’s best friend to her isolated Adirondack lake camp to give him an unusual gift: a party boat. Yet as a landscape of real and imagined horror unfurls, we see that is only the beginning of what she wants. Bunyip is a play about the claustrophobia of unbridled empathy, and the horrors we invent to distance ourselves from those in acute pain. The play asks: what happens when another’s...

A mother invites her dead son’s best friend to her isolated Adirondack lake camp to give him an unusual gift: a party boat. Yet as a landscape of real and imagined horror unfurls, we see that is only the beginning of what she wants. Bunyip is a play about the claustrophobia of unbridled empathy, and the horrors we invent to distance ourselves from those in acute pain. The play asks: what happens when another’s suffering is too much to bear? What happens when we bear it anyway?

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Bunyip

Recommended by

  • Jan Rosenberg: Bunyip by Zoe Lasden-Lyman
    “

    This is fantastic. Scary, sad, mysterious, funny, and incredibly atmospheric. Very much in awe!

    This is fantastic. Scary, sad, mysterious, funny, and incredibly atmospheric. Very much in awe!

    ”
  • Eugene O'Neill Theater Center: Bunyip by Zoe Lasden-Lyman
    “

    It is the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's pleasure to recommend Zoe Lasden-Lyman and their play Bunyip as a finalist for our 2020 National Playwrights Conference. This particular work emerged from a highly competitive, anonymous, and multi-tiered selection process to become one of 63 finalists out of more than 1,500 submissions. This enthralling piece galvanized the hearts and theatrical imaginations of our reading teams and is fully championed by our offices. We are honored to put our enthusiastic support behind this writer and their ongoing contributions to the American Theater.

    It is the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's pleasure to recommend Zoe Lasden-Lyman and their play Bunyip as a finalist for our 2020 National Playwrights Conference. This particular work emerged from a highly competitive, anonymous, and multi-tiered selection process to become one of 63 finalists out of more than 1,500 submissions. This enthralling piece galvanized the hearts and theatrical imaginations of our reading teams and is fully championed by our offices. We are honored to put our enthusiastic support behind this writer and their ongoing contributions to the American Theater.

    ”
  • Nick Malakhow: Bunyip by Zoe Lasden-Lyman
    “

    What an awesomely atmospheric and unsettling piece. I especially enjoyed how this worked on multiple levels. It succeeds as a dramatic exploration of grief and bereavement, caretaking, and mental health struggles. It also succeeds mightily as a thrilling horror play, and there are too few quality entries to this genre that focus on eerie, suspenseful tension, unsettling pacing and rhythm, and subtle but potent reveals. "Bunyip" has those all and then some. It would also make for a fun design challenge, engaging set, lights, and sound in creative and horror-heightening ways.

    What an awesomely atmospheric and unsettling piece. I especially enjoyed how this worked on multiple levels. It succeeds as a dramatic exploration of grief and bereavement, caretaking, and mental health struggles. It also succeeds mightily as a thrilling horror play, and there are too few quality entries to this genre that focus on eerie, suspenseful tension, unsettling pacing and rhythm, and subtle but potent reveals. "Bunyip" has those all and then some. It would also make for a fun design challenge, engaging set, lights, and sound in creative and horror-heightening ways.

    ”