Shaun Leisher

Glad I didn't read the synopsis of this play. I feel like I don't get to read enough plays that truly surprise and blow all my expectations of how things will go after scene one completely out of the water. This play does that and it is one of the many reasons that I am glad that it exists. Another reason is that it explores the world of kink in the fat community is such an interesting and judgment-free way. Any yet another reason is that its a pure horror play that I can not wait to see fully staged.

This is for sure a story that could be adapted for the screen but I'm so glad that Mirny could chose the stage. There are evocative stage pictures that I picture on botht the Broadway and black box college theatre level and at its core it's a play about people talking and connecting which is what I look for in theatre. I love that that it's a queer story where being queer is not the main character trait of these individuals and trauma is handled here with such care. I need to read Tillie Walden's stuff now.

A deep look at the world of kink and what our particular ones say about us disguised as a rom-com. A play that needs to be on the stage instead of the screen. The audience needs to sit in the discomfort of what these humans are saying and doing to each other. It's a play that in the hands of a skilled and sensitive intimacy director will take actors and audiences right to the edge when it comes to taboos in the bedroom. But trust me. It's really fucking funny too and the way reality is bent here was inspiring.

Plays about forced community is my bag and even better when it’s about one I’m not super familiar with. Safe havens for the queer community have always been a part of society but they seem to be more and more endangered due to capitalism and the rise of Christian nationalism. We needs plays like this to sound the alarm and mobilize the resistance. The play is also super horny and quite funny. Berry’s boldness when it comes to the sexuality is so refreshing and I hope it blows the wigs off the average theatre going crowd.

My favorite part of engaging with experimental theatre is having my expectations completely subverted from the very beginning. I read the premise and thought I was walking into a lecture-like, fourth wall breaking exploration on revenge in media but where La Bella took me was far more satisfying. It's a play about the villains in the media of our youth and the ones we have built up in our heads. It's a memory play where the memory could not be more faulty. I hope to come across more more where personal lore is excavated.