Synopsis

A squalid, newspaper-strewn room in a dilapidated flat

Pink and Rolly, bound by blood and shared trauma, inhabit a claustrophobic nest of their own making. As Rolly tentatively reaches for a chance at redemption through a job opportunity, Pink’s desperate need to keep her sister close threatens to drag them both deeper into the abyss. Their toxic codependency plays out against a backdrop of drug use, sex work, and the lingering shadows of childhood abuse.

Vivienne Franzmann’s raw, unflinching play pulses with the brutal poetry of survival. Through fragmented dialogue and surreal interludes, “Pests” explores the cyclical nature of addiction, the lasting impact of childhood trauma, and the fierce, often destructive love between siblings. The sisters’ world is a nightmarish carnival of memory and hallucination, where the boundaries between past and present blur, and the promise of escape always remains tantalizingly out of reach.