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David is gay, disabled and profoundly horny. He can't eat, drink or shower by himself - or wank. Totally inexperienced, he embarks on a sexual and romantic odyssey, armed with a fierce brain, and dick pics that he has to get someone to take.
Can he keep it casual whilst also relying on round-the-clock care? And will he manage the thrill and uncertainty of random hook-ups after a lifetime of knockbacks?
Animal is a hilarious, challenging and heartbreaking play by Jon Bradfield, from a story by Bradfield and Josh Hepple. It won the inaugural Through the Mill Playwriting Prize, was shortlisted for the Papatango Prize, and was first performed at the Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester, and Park Theatre, London, in 2023.
About the author
Jon Bradfield is a playwright, theatre marketer and graphic designer. His plays include: Animal, co-written with Josh Hepple (Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester/Park Theatre London, 2023); and A Hard Rain, co-written with Martin Hooper (Above the Stag Theatre, 2014).
Other work includes several adult pantomimes for Above The Stag Theatre, co-written with Martin Hooper; a contribution to Queers (Old Vic and BBC Four, 2017); and several sketches for the long-running News Revue at the Canal Cafe Theatre.
Josh Hepple is a writer, activist, lecturer and disability equality trainer who has severe cerebral palsy. His play Animal, written in collaboration with Jon Bradfield, was shortlisted for the 2020 Papatango New Writing Prize and won the 2021 Hope Mill Prize. It was staged in 2023 in a co-production between Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester, and Park Theatre, London.
Summary
A hilarious, challenging and heartbreaking play about a gay, disabled man embarking on a sexual and romantic odyssey.
