Elf Lyons and Nicholas Armfield will take the lead in Arcola Theatre’s The Misandrist.
Lyons (Swan) and Armfield (Camberwell Green) will play “intimidating” Rachel and “nice guy” Nick in the play, which sees them meet at a stick-floored bar in Piccadilly and what was meant to be a one-night stand becomes a sexual odyssey of self-discovery – and mutual destruction.
Prickly freelancer Rachel is at the beginning of an existential crisis. Trapped in endless short-term contracts for a faceless government department as the economy continues its slow decline, jobs are being squeezed. Nothing feels safe or secure. Nothing feels like it’s progressing. Maybe this existential limbo is Rachel’s punishment for stealing Tupperware at the office Christmas party. But that wasn’t her fault. It was the really good kind “The boxes fit into each other! They just stack so perfectly. You know what, there’s structure, that’s what it is”. And we all know that’s just too tempting.
Adrift, isolated, and insecure, they scramble for new ways to connect. Somewhere along the line, they decide to explore flipping the narrative. Metaphorically, and very, very literally. As they navigate their “situationship,” Rachel decides it’s time to TAKE BACK CONTROL. Can some playful, passionate pegging provide a pathway of discovery to new parts of themselves, and each other?
Bethany Pitts (The Beach House) directs the latest work from writer Lisa Carroll (Cuckoo). The designer is Cara Evans and the lighting designer is Peter Small.
The Misandrist is at the Arcola from May 11-June 10, 2023.