in development
A 'beasty-babel-fable' that uses the celebrated case of sibling pigs, aka the Tamworth Two, THE CRATE ESCAPE is a powerful allegory, shedding light on the struggles and hopes of those who risk everything for a chance at a better life. The pigs' daring escape from death by slaughter leads to no more than the harrowing experiences of refugees. In a dystopian world, they flee from Bleedbladder’s tyrannical regime, mirroring the plight of refugees seeking freedom from oppression.
This inventive play combines extraordinary language, part English, part Gobbledegook, with dark humor to poignantly highlight themes of displacement, resilience, and the universal quest for sanctuary.
Writer Dougie Blaxland comments
The idea for writing THE CRATE ESCAPE began last year when I came across a newspaper cutting from 1998 about two Tamworth pigs that escaped from a van near Malmesbury on their way to an abattoir. What was intriguing was the way in which they were celebrated by the media as freedom fighters seeking asylum in the face of tyranny. This prompted me to explore how they might be portrayed in a contemporary Britain in which asylum seekers are regarded with deep suspicion.
The challenge was to create a language for the pigs that is wholly distinguishable from vernacular English and in so doing I have drawn on a combination of Chaucer and the kind of “gobbledygook” made famous by comedian Stanley Unwin. The result is “Pork Talk” which is designed to seem both alien and curiously familiar at one and the same time. The intention is to create a deadly serious and highly comic allegory that aims to provoke and entertain in equal measures.
Early-stage R&D was directed by Colin Blumenau during development week AUTUMN 2024
