Friend, guide, idol. Trickster, whisperer, manipulator. Ellen and Matt discuss Kit and how to navigate roleplaying an unhealthy relationship.
Programme notes
This production contains persistent peril; exploitative relationships, including manipulation and coercion; sibling tragedy; mind control, loss of memory and self; and violence, including blood and gun violence.
Dramatis personae and other definitions
Jess Butterworth: a twenty-something shift worker, Sherrydown born and bred. While working the tarot tent at Amazement Park, she was approached by Kit, a being claiming to be her spirit guide.
Gwynned: a former shieldmaiden of the triple goddess Morrigan. For the crime of saving a mortal man from the Morrigan’s cruel whim, the goddess exiled Gwyn to live as a duck, overlooked by mortals. Recently freed from the curse, Gwyn is negotiating a new relationship with her mistress.
Calistarius Softbinding: a local horror writer with a cult following, who sponsored the construction of a whole new wing of Sherrydown’s library. Calistarius Softbinding is a nom de plume.
Harper: a US exchange student trying to sever her ties to the Shadow realm she sometimes enters through revolving doors.
Department of Omissions (DO, DoOm): The UK government department tasked with preventing harm to citizens from supernatural phenomena. Severely defunded under Tory austerity policies and currently prioritising major urban population centres.
Sherrydown, Brackshire: A historic English market town. One of the first towns to lose its DoOm office.
Omission effect: The rejection of certain beings and phenomena by long-term memory. Can be suppressed by concentration, mnemonic techniques, hypnosis, trauma, or the light of the full moon.
Credits
COMPERE: Matt Boothman
STARRING:
Ellen Gould as Jess Butterworth, the Spooky
Natalie Winter as Gwynned, the Divine
Chris Buxey as Calistarius Softbinding, the Expert
Marta da Silva as Harper, the Searcher
ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: Monster of the Week, designed by Michael Sands
MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst
SOUND DESIGN BY: Matt Boothman
EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman