Breeders

A surreal, darkly funny play about an outer suburban autistic family and their technicolour brain explosions as they struggle to communicate and connect with one another.

Breeders is a darkly funny play about our world, where autistic children are considered problematic nightmares, and dodgy anti-vaccine ‘doctors’ become God-like saviours.

Jumping between naturalism, satire and surrealism, this is today’s Melbourne through the acerbic eyes of Anna, a young autistic woman and budding journalist.

Between domestic disputes, Anna’s family is confronted by media coverage about their lives in which they have no say.

That is, until the media is hijacked by “problematic nightmare children.”

Written by a neurodivergent artist and performed by predominantly neurodivergent actors, Breeders takes aim at the violent myths hurled at parents of autistic children which are much scarier than having a disabled child.

Winner of the 2019 Stella Young Award

Playwright: Vanessa Di Natale

Director: Emma Mary Hall

Producer and Access Coordinator: Sarah Houbolt

Dramaturgy: Mari Lourey

Videographer: Devika Bilmoria

Lighting Designer: Oliver Ross

Sound Designer: Olivia McKenna

Set and Costume Designer: Arielle Vlahiotis

Cast: Benjamin Oakes, Cecilia Low, Artemis Munoz, Michael Chan, Rosalind Silver, Jess Cook & Summer Metcalf

Stage Manager Laura Hook

Image by Josie Di Natale

Content warnings*:

– Ableism (mentioned and performed frequently)
– Nazism and eugenics (mentioned once)
– Medical malpractice and invasive surgeries/procedures (mentioned twice and performed once)
– Animal abuse and slaughter (mentioned once)- Child abuse and neglect (mentioned and performed i.e shoving, pushing, neglecting)
– Sexual assault (alluded to once)
– Death and murder (mentioned frequently)
– Abortion (mentioned occasionally)
– Infanticide, filicide, neonaticide (mentioned occasionally)

* Many of these content warnings are for content that is mentioned briefly and not explicitly acted out on characters. For a more extensive list of where potentially triggering content occurs in specific scenes in the play and to what frequency, please contact info@lamama.com.au