The Misandrist by Lisa Carroll. Arcola Theatre from 10th May

Arcola Theatre: Thurs 10th May – 10th June
Press Night: Tuesday 16th May
https://www.arcolatheatre.com/whats-on/the-misandrist

“First things first, we’re going to introduce ourselves
and say why we’re here, and then,
I want you to tell us what your imaginary penis is called. Okay?”

Two anxious lonely people embark on a sexual odyssey … with mixed results.
The Misandrist is a penetrating new comedy about the search for sexual knowledge, true love, and top-notch Tupperware

Metal Rabbit productions is delighted to announce the debut run of ‘The Misandrist’ a penetrating new play by Lisa Carroll (writer of the ‘intoxicating to watch’ Cuckoo, Soho Theatre) which will run at the Arcola Theatre from Thurs 10th May – 10th June 2023.

Prickly freelancer Rachel is at the beginning of an existential crisis. It’s 2018, Brexit looms large yet never “gets done”. Rachel prays for a second referendum that will never come. The economy continues its slow decline, jobs are being squeezed. Nothing feels safe or secure. Nothing feels like it’s progressing. Maybe this existential limbo is Rachel’s punishment for stealing Tupperware at the office Christmas party. But that wasn’t her fault. It was the really good kind “The boxes fit into each other! They just stack so perfectly. You know what, there’s structure, that’s what it is”. And we all know that’s just too tempting.

Then Rachel meets engaging go-getter Sule. Two second-generation immigrants, who meet at a sticky-floored bar in Piccadilly and share an Uber home. Sule intrigues Rachel, and she hasn’t had sex in two years, so when one thing leads to another, she sleeps with him. A few late nights and a few “what u doin?’’ messages later and they’ve fallen into a causal relationship. Over the next few months, around the contract extension and Brexit negotiations, they realise they’ve begun to offer each other something that neither can find elsewhere; in the middle of a lot of meaninglessness, they’ve found a genuine connection.

Adrift, isolated, and insecure, they scramble for new ways to connect. Somewhere along the line, they decide to explore flipping the narrative. Metaphorically, and very, very literally. Can some playful, passionate pegging provide a pathway through the pitfalls of modern relationships and present the possibility of a deeper bond?

Rachel starts to really like Sule. Sule starts to really like Rachel. And Rachel doesn’t know how to be liked. So self-sabotage seems like the best plan. Memories get twisted, who did what to whom, who f*cked who, literally and metaphorically, gets muddled. And somehow Brexit is still happening. There are two very different sides to this story, yet somehow, you’re rooting for everyone to come out OK. But of course, nobody ever wins.

‘The Misandrist’ is a is a story of loneliness, disconnection, a relationship of sorts, and whether pegging is really the best band-aid’

This is the latest work by Lisa Carroll, writer of the award-nominated ‘Cuckoo’ (Soho Theatre, 2018). In 2020, ‘The Misandrist’ was longlisted for the Womens’ Playwriting Prize (Paines Plough) and reached the final 40 scripts in the Verity Bargate Award (Soho Theatre). It also reached the final 40 for the BBC Writers Academy and final 30 scripts of the BBC Comedy Room, which saw nearly 3,500 applications. This is its debut run.