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“Sparring sisters collide in science stormer. A spellbinding account of sibling strife in this wonderfully ambitious play set during the Higgs boson breakthrough” Michael Billington, Guardian
Premiered at the National Theatre in 2017, this highly acclaimed play, written by the audaciously talented Lucy Kirkwood, is set in 2008 during a momentous time in scientific discovery. It deals with the large subjects of order and chaos, but also what happens to domestic order when chaos descends.
Alice is a scientist. She lives in Geneva. As the Large Hadron Collider starts up in 2008, she is embarking on the most exciting work of her life, searching for the Higgs Boson particle. Jenny is her sister. She lives in Luton. She spends a lot of time Googling.
When tragedy throws them together, the collision threatens them all with chaos.
Lucy Kirkwood has established herself as a leading playwright of our time.
This wildly ambitious play is a brilliantly funny and occasionally brutal exploration of the workings of the universe and the connection to own lives. Compelling theatre.
This non-professional production is presented in association with Nick Hern Books.
Mosquitoes touches on many adult themes and contains strong language. Performance contains flashing lights.
Age guidance 15 years +.
Director's Notes
I am so excited to bring Lucy Kirkwood’s Mosquitoes to the Loft Theatre stage. It has been a huge undertaking for everyone involved.
Kirkwood’s text is packed with layers of meaning, complex relationships and themes that are exciting and challenging to discover.
The play tackles these subjects with witty, sarcastic humour often found in the darkest times. The dialogue is natural, familial, sometime brutal and punctuated with explorations of the workings of the universe.
The draw for me to this piece is the family dynamics at the centre of this chaotic universe. This is an exploration into the relationship between sisters who are the worst and the best for each other.
Alice and Jenny are polar opposites, they live very different lives and think about the world very differently. They can be vicious to each other intentionally and unintentionally, but in times of need they look to each other for support.
But there is more than the sibling dynamic in this play to add to the chaos. Their mother Karen is facing challenges in her older years with her mental and physical capacities and Alice’s son, Luke is very awkward and struggles with fitting in at school and his relationships with family and friends.
This family drama is set against the chaos of the universe and its creation as the Large Hadron Collider begins its tests in the search for the Higgs boson. Particles and siblings collide in the play and both results are fascinating.
The backstage teams have worked wonders at taking an idea of creating two worlds – the whole universe vs the microcosm of one family – and putting that onto the stage. The technical challenge is one that the Loft Theatre team relish and my thanks go to them.
My thanks also to the company and creative team who have work incredibly hard tackling this ambitious play.
It’s very normal in life to get caught up in your own little world isn’t it? But in the grand scheme of things, we are the size of mosquitoes on a planet the size of an apple!
Viki Betts: Director, Mosquitoes
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