Performances run 27 June - 13 July 2024.
Tron Theatre Company will present the Scottish Premiere of Radiant Vermin, by playwright Philip Ridley. Directed by Johnny McKnight, Radiant Vermin, is a wickedly comic satire about a young couple offered a 'too-good-to-be-true' way onto the property ladder and is a viciously sharp look at how far we will go to satisfy - and justify - materialistic greed.
Described as 'a fast-paced, modern fairy-tale that burrows into the dark wormholes of the imagination' and 'a blithely told fable for the age of unaffordable housing', Radiant Vermin centres on a young couple in their twenties, Jill and Ollie, who are expecting their first baby and living in a tiny flat in a crime-ridden, undesirable area. That is until they receive a letter from a new government department and encounter the mysterious Miss Dee who offers the couple a house for free, but only on the condition that they are willing to improve the property and spark regeneration in the area. Some of the things Jill and Ollie do to turn the house into their dream home are shocking, but they want you to know that they did it all for their baby.
Award-winning writer, director and performer Johnny McKnight has assembled a strong comedic cast that features Julie Wilson Nimmo as Miss Dee (Low Pay? Don't Pay! (Tron Theatre/Glasgow Life) and Tutti Frutti (National Theatre of Scotland)), Dani Heron as Jill (Adults (Traverse Theatre) and Underwood Lane (Tron Theatre)), and star of Paramount+ Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Martin Quinn as Ollie (Not Now (Oran Mor) and Moorcroft (Tron Theatre)).
Director Johnny McKnight says of the piece: 'I'm delighted to be bringing Philip Ridley's play to the Tron Theatre. When I first read it, I was struck not only by how wickedly funny and political it was, but how relevant it is to now. With housing market prices rising, an overpriced and uber-competitive rental market, a couple are faced with a dilemma. What would you do to get the dream home? How far would you go? Could you murder for the perfect en-suite? I think it's a brilliantly original play and I can't wait to bring it to Tron audiences this summer.'
Challenging the audience to question their own morality and consider what lengths they might go to for materialistic gain, Radiant Vermin is a provocative and outrageous black comedy about the housing market, homelessness and inequality.
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