Curse of the Starving Class

Synopsis

A derelict farmhouse kitchen in rural California, where dreams wither and hunger gnaws at more than just empty stomachs.

Weston Tate, a booze-soaked patriarch, staggers through life, his family farm crumbling around him. His wife Ella plots escape to Europe, ignorant of Weston’s desperate deal to sell their land for a pittance. Meanwhile, their children Wesley and Emma wage their own battles against the family’s seemingly inescapable fate. Wesley, torn between fixing the farm and fleeing his father’s shadow, obsessively rebuilds the kitchen door. Emma, ablaze with adolescent rebellion, dreams of horses and far-off adventures.

Sam Shepard’s savage tragicomedy serves up a feast of broken dreams and primal hunger. Dark humour simmers alongside moments of surreal beauty, as when Weston’s fevered mind conjures visions of battling eagles and lambs. The play’s structure mirrors the family’s chaotic existence, veering between explosive confrontations and eerily calm interludes. Shepard’s razor-sharp dialogue cuts to the bone of American disillusionment, exposing the raw nerves of a family – and a nation – teetering on the brink of collapse. As predatory developers circle and violence threatens to erupt, the Tates’ struggle becomes a searing indictment of a society that devours its own.