Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting, These Demons is a thrilling new dark comedy[1]horror and the debut play of Rachel Bellman, exploring family ties, sisterhood, and Jewish demonology. Set in modern-day Britain, These Demons is a family drama which rethinks the mainstream narrative around Jewish stories.
When an incident puts her aunt Mirah in hospital, 17-year-old Leah takes it upon herself to find the perpetrator and exact revenge. But as she puts together her plan, the lines of reality become blurred. Her search for answers becomes a search for demons - metaphorical and… not. Despite what her sister Danielle tells her, the shadows in their aunt’s remote cottage seem to move. Surrounded by books about Jewish exorcisms, the two sisters fight the sinking suspicion that they’re not alone.
Directed by Jasmine Teo and produced by Tanya Truman, the play explores themes of antisemitism, sexism, and the stigma of the ‘village witch’. These Demons delves into what it means to feel ‘other’, whether through culture, age, or willingness to conform. It weaves together different types of demons from historical texts and sources in ways that can be interpreted literally and metaphorically as well as mythologically. Throughout its development, Director Jasmine Teo has also drawn on her own unique 2 perspective as an East Asian creative to highlight common systemic inequalities present in modern British society, reflected in this specific Jewish story.
These Demons: Tuesday 26th September – Saturday 14th October
Further Information & Tickets: Theatre503 | These Demons