Sap

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The signs of trouble set in when her new girlfriend says that she will not date a bisexual woman, and Daphne chooses to hide her sexuality. Marcus has Daphne play this as a convenience, a white lie that she will eventually confess to – until her girlfriend and her one-night stand are revealed to have a connection to one another. Rafaella Marcus is a 2021 MGCFutures bursary winner and JMK Award Finalist, whose work focuses on bringing marginalised voices to the stage, especially women. SAP is produced by 11-time Offie-nominated Atticist, whose previous production Life According to Saki won the Carol Tamber Best of Edinburgh Award, and by Ellie Keel, the Founder Director of the Women's Prize for Playwriting, who was shortlisted as Producer of the Year in the Stage Awards 2022, and has added SAP to her roster of hit shows including Collapsible by Margaret Perry, HOTTER and FITTER by Mary Higgins and Ell Potter, and Reasons You Should(n't) Love Me by Amy Trigg. The production is designed by by Rūta Irbīte with lighting design by David Doyle, Composition and Sound Design by Tom Foskett-Barnes, and Movement Direction by Jennifer Fletcher. Tour Dates From Atticist and Ellie Keel Productions, this hit play is a queer urban fable about bisexuality and what we allow people to believe, in a world where The Song of Achilles meets Killing Eve. Drawing inspiration from the myth of 'Daphne and Apollo', SAP is a contemporary, fast-paced thriller about passion, power, and photosynthesis.

There are elements of magical realism at work too, as Daphne experiences a connection to nature that, while predating her encounters, comes to the fore as the character endures at the hands of her tormentor. There are allusions to Greek mythology at play here, notably of Daphne and Apollo, but the imagery of a woman encasing herself in tree bark, of lakes full of drowned nymphs, speaks to a history of women being abused for men’s gratification, and the need to constructive a defensive shell to protect oneself.

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How many men?" asks Daphne's girlfriend. An accusation more than a query, one many bisexual women have heard when they're entering a same-sex relationship. Rafaella Marcus pinpoints the eternal bisexual struggle in Sap , which has come to London after a starry sell-out run at Edinburgh Fringe last year. She explores prejudice and stereotype, fetishisation and biphobia through a precise commentary wrapped into a viscerally poetic tale. When Daphne lies by omission, she accidentally and nonconsensually enters a dark, twisted game. EK: We commissioned Raf because I knew of Sap and couldn’t take it to Edinburgh that year. I wanted to keep the flames of our collaboration burning. Rafaella Marcus has produced such a beautiful and complex script, conversational, poetic, funny and emotional, all in the space of an hour. The actors are incredible at bringing it to life in a way that makes it feel a real privilege to be a part of the audience. Paines Plough’s Roundabout is an experience in itself. A 168-seat theatre in the round with 3 stage entrances. SAP utilises all the strengths of the theatre in the solid director hands of Jessica Lazar and the award-winning Atticist Theatre company. The fable in question is that of Apollo and Daphne. The first very much obsessed with the latter, who is prepared to do whatever is required to reject him. In the mythical version, the final solution to the unwanted attentions arrives from Daphne’s own parents, who turn her into a plant as soon as Apollo gets too close. In Rafaella Marcus’ modern interpretation, this transformation is more metaphorical – albeit described so vividly that we can’t tell where reality ends and gives space to imagination.

RM: I know it’s been said before but I don’t think I ever want to stop saying it: there’s been enormous pressure on freelancers. Award-winning Atticist and Ellie Keel Productions return with a new play based on an old myth, about passion, power, and photosynthesis. A contemporary fast-paced thriller with ancient roots, SAP is directed by Offie-nominated Jessica Lazar ( Anna Bella Eema, Arcola Theatre; Outlying Islands, King’s Head Theatre; Dangerous Giant Animals, Edinburgh Fringe/United Solo Fest New York/Park Theatre). This debut play by Rafaella Marcus is a queer urban fable about bisexuality and what we allow people to believe. A white lie Daphne told to her partner about not being attracted to men spirals out of control, and is used against her. The play becomes frantic, with Daphne, to no avail, trying to untangle herself out of the situation she has found herself into. Nature is used as a metaphorical device in Daphne’s monologues as she suffocates from the situation. Sap is difficult to watch in terms of subject matter, but it’s also difficult not to take your eyes off it in terms of performance. On the reflective floors, Clark and Marcus both present sensitivity in their characters but easily provide the dramatic intensity some of the scenes demand.Fresh from a critically acclaimed run at Edinburgh and with The Plaines Plough, Marcus’s debut is also a Soho Playhouse winner of Excellence in Theatre. Sap is an enlightening, thought provoking drama that explores with maturity the nature of trust, truth, control and cohesion as well as the complexities of contemporary relationships. Rafaella Marcus’ first full length play, directed by Jessica Lazar, for Atticist, and Ellie Keel productions, is a dazzling debut. The whole thing is performed in seventy minutes, with just two performers, outdoors in a tent at the Summerhall in Edinburgh. All of which just adds satisfying layers to this complex and thought provoking theatrical experience. At its simplest, SAP is a modern retelling of the Apollo and Daphne myth. SAP manages to retain the love and predatory desire of the original, as well as the tragedy. Performers Jessica Clark (as Daphne) and Rebecca Banatvala (playing all the other roles) are riveting as the pursuing, and the pursued. Greek myths told in a new way is a perennially popular choice for playwrights. What makes Rafaella Marcus’ retelling so intriguing is that SAP confronts human sexuality in non binary forms, and in a very contemporary way. The language of SAP is rich and evocative. Metaphors are used lavishly, which suits the method of presentation — that of an extended monologue told by Daphne, and short scenes with two characters that round out the story when needed. Plants are described as images of transformation, but these are not gentle or passive examples of vegetable life. In the character of Daphne, Marcus explores the idea of metamorphosis as a metaphor for bisexuality as well. In the first of several unexpected plot twists, we discover that Daphne’s lovers are brother and sister. She has a casual fling with the brother, then meets the sister, and the two fall passionately in love. But Daphne’s lover is unsympathetic to the idea of bisexuality, and Daphne gets trapped in the first of several lies as she has to hide who she really is. When she meets her male lover again at a family wedding where both siblings are present, the meeting is catastrophic. There is so much for a couple of talented performers to work with in SAP. Jessica Clark and Rebecca Banatvala are more than up to the challenge. Banatvala takes on the supporting roles, including those of the rival brother and sister. But the play begins and ends with Clark’s non binary character Daphne. Jessica Lazar’s luminous direction allows plenty of room for the performers to transform their bodies, and our imaginations, using the vivid language of Marcus’ script. Banatvala’s ability to shift character with the twitch of an eyebrow or shrug of a shoulder, is particularly breathtaking to watch. But the energy that drives the whole comes from Clark as Daphne. The production is complete and satisfying, and that includes costumes and set (Rūta Irbīte) and the work of sound designer and composer Tom Foskett-Barnes. Catch this production while you can in Edinburgh—and hope that it gets produced elsewhere, and soon. Similarly, her bisexuality, which is arguably the catalyst to further problems, is a fight between her natural and taught instincts. Her attraction to men is almost an animalistic urge, as opposed to women, a softer, more comforting love. She jokes about going out for ‘ladies night’, when her friends say she can’t decide that beforehand, otherwise that would make sexuality a choice. The way she describes her attraction is notably less eloquent than other moments- its chatty and familiar. Whilst it makes sense to her, it’s confusing to be able to express it outwardly. She’s not a scholar, she’s just trying to tell us what she feels in a way language cannot. Maybe if she was able to, the rest of the story wouldn’t happen. We’ll never know. There’s a vicious circle because if you tend towards safer programming, you actually double down on the audience that you already have. You’re going with what’s tried and tested. You are de facto not inviting new people. Lazar has her kiss the soon-to-be girlfriend tenderly after having previously engaged in an intense balancing act with the man. It's a striking summary of Daphne's precarious equation. From the poetic elements of the writing and its visual allegories down to the staging and performances, Sap is a gem.