A world premiere by Ben Weatherill

​

Finborough Theatre & Leicester Curve Theatre

March 2015

​

“Oh this ain’t a farm. This is a loading dock. No such things as farms anymore, not around here.”

A chicken farm in rural England. New boy Tim has just arrived for his first shift. The job is pretty simple: grab chickens seven at a time by their legs and ram them into cages for shipping. All of this in the dark, stomping around in ankle deep chicken shit, muck and mud. His teammates are old-timers, with cigarettes dangling from their lips and pantyhose up their arms to protect their skin. This band of survivors don’t want much: just to stay in the countryside, catch the chickens, and earn the best living they can.

But the chickens are dying, rotting from the inside out like hot fruit just hours after they arrive. As disease spreads and pressure mounts, enter Oscar, the meticulous poultry inspector…

​

Direction: Chelsea Walker

Design: Cecilia Carey

Costume Design: Sarah Mecadé

Sound Design: Ella Wahlström

Lighting Design: Jamie Platt

Presented by Hattie Gregory in association with Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre

Cast: Roger Alborough, Mark Conway, Paul Easom, Alex Gatehouse, Christopher Hancock, Paddy Navin

​