Rotten, the debut play by Josie White and directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair, is a bold and honest insight into the complex morals and malicious actions that desperate times push us towards. With betrayal, double-crossings and romance interwoven amongst a group of anti-heroes who are struggling to make ends meet, this thriller will have audiences questioning their neighbours and themselves.
Rotten follows three young actresses sharing a dwindling dream and skimping on electricity, barely making it to the end of each month. Living in the posh block of flats opposite them is Instagram celebrity ‘The Honourable’ Iris Montague-Willis. With front-row seats to the envious life of the newly engaged influencer, one evening has them in an all-new position of power as they spy Iris in a compromising position with another woman. Identity, morals, and trust are all questioned, as White’s debut play investigates mental health and shifting allegiances relevant to wider communities.
Influenced by Hitchcock and Agatha Christie, Rotten uses the intense setting of high-stakes drama to explore themes that are poignant to the lives of young people today. Intertwining the cost-of-living crisis, capitalism, mental health, and social media, White’s play shines a light on the economic and social crisis with sharp observation and wit.
Writer Josie White comments, Rotten is a dark- comedy thriller that is meant to unashamedly entertain, shock and make you laugh out loud; with powerful female roles that challenge stereotypes and showcase diversity and regionality.
The play delves into the lives of a group of dynamic, relatable, and outspoken Antihero’s on a mission to change their circumstances by any means necessary and as the characters find themselves truly barrelling down the path of no return, they subsequently hold a mirror up to society and challenge the very make up of it. Rotten takes spying on your neighbours to a whole new, frightening, and disturbing level, and draws the audience on a rollercoaster, that twists and turn in ways you won’t see coming.
Director Rikki Beadle-Blair comments, It’s not often a writer comes up with a deliciously dark thriller, that is also a hilarious comedy and a socially astute satire. So, this play is particularly fun and challenging at the same time. It’s like conducting a concerto – the cast must be pitch perfect virtuosos to keep the tension while making the audience gasp and laugh in equal measure. We need to deliver onto levels of human observation and depth… and sheer entertainment. I’m loving every second.
Omnibus Theatre
1 Clapham Common North Side, London, SW4 0QW 6th-7th November.
19:00 / 19:00 + 21:00 https://www.omnibus-clapham.org/rotten/
