Matthew Shaw
“Tormenting the Hen” a caustic satire of city mice in the world of country mice, where well-meaning cosmopolites clash with strange townsfolk in country homes, black-box theaters, backyards, and local pubs. Invited by a dippy, curator (Josephine Decker), playwright Claire (Dameka Hayes) is spirited away to an artists’ retreat to present a political one-act about race, resentment, and masculinity. Accompanied by her fiancé, Monica (Carolina Monnerat), begins as a welcome getaway for the harried pair, until an unexpected visit from town enigma Mutty (Matt Shaw) casts a threatening shadow. While Claire plays babysitter to a duo of difficult performers Joel (Brian H. Brooks) and Adam (David Malinsky) Monica attempts to maintain her sanity despite her lover’s decreasing attentions and her neighbor’s proximity. Each woman struggles to preserve her autonomy in an increasingly hostile milieu, building to a soul-shaking climax that offers no easy answers for character and viewer alike.
