Guest Blog: Patch Plays' Anastasia Bunce and Grace Joy Howarth on Activism Through Theatre in BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS, at Southwark Playhouse

Patch Plays is a theatre company dedicated to staging new writing focusing on themes of animal ethics and the environment. We tell entertaining, personal stories through an engaging human lens. As a company, we believe that theatre is an incredibly impactful form of climate activism and hope our work evokes empathy and positive change.

Blood On Your Hands, our new play coming to Southwark Playhouse Borough from January 17 – February 3, shines a light on the overlooked victims of slaughterhouses: the labourers. Ukrainian ex-veterinarian Kostyantyn finds himself sharing an abattoir breakroom with cheery working-class Welsh lad, Dan. Though the two men have come from very different backgrounds and faced their own unique hardships, an unlikely friendship forms based on moisturiser, ‘sardyna,’ and their shared distaste for darts. Both Kostya and Dan are united as they strive to better their lives.

At its core, Blood on Your Hands explores uncomfortable topics that can be difficult to have a conversation about. From toxic masculinity to the mistreatment of migrant workers to one of the leading causes of climate change: animal agriculture. Though it focuses on these divisive themes, the heart of the play is rooted in empathy.

When researching the intricacies of slaughterhouse work, one phrase always came up in discussions: “I could never do that.” The job is a brutal one, with workers facing physical injuries as well as psychological damage and trauma.  The play does not aim to point a finger at the slaughterers; instead, it explores the socioeconomic circumstances that lead people towards this line of work. When writing the piece, playwright Grace Joy Howarth wanted to humanise this often overlooked and derided part of modern life.

The strength of the play lies in its realism. You really want to be friends with Kostya and Dan as they crack silly jokes in the breakroom at work, the relationship between them bringing a moment of solace during their difficult daily routine. There is as much humour and joy as there is heartbreak and strife, which is true to life. When creating theatre with a political and social heartbeat, it is important to create believable, nuanced, three-dimensional characters whose stories audiences can empathise with.

Through the rehearsal period, director Anastasia Bunce has blended these naturalistic scenes with expressionistic, symbolic movement sequences that give a glimpse into ‘the kill floor,’ working with movement director Tessa Guerrero to bring the atmosphere of this environment to life. The show has original music composed by The Araby Bazaar, which uses drone-like scores to underpin the slaughterhouse scenes, mixed with Ukrainian-inspired melodies featuring a traditional lullaby.

The show blends together the worlds and cultures of Ukraine and the UK, drawing parallels between the effects of slaughter in animal agriculture and the pressures of the threat of war.

The piece, conceptualised in August 2021, before the full-scale Russian Invasion of Ukraine, has become even more pertinent as the conflict rages on. Patch Plays have worked closely with Ukrainian actors Ivan Doan and Kateryna Hryhorenko to tell the story as authentically as possible.

Attending a night at the theatre might not seem like you’re saving the world, but Patch Plays hopes to platform important stories that can start a conversation and inspire a little positive change.

Blood on Your Hands runs until 3 February at Southwark Playhouse Borough. 

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