SUCH A BAD BOY by Jeremiah Bartram

This is a memory play, which takes place in the mind of the dying "J", a 22 year old transgender person in a long gold dress. Left unprotected by the death (by suicide) of his mother, J has been abused sexually by his father, Horace, a pillar of the community and cabinet minister. Video images trigger shifts in time and place, as J tells his story, sometimes in scenes with Horace, sometimes with Margaret, his mother (a ghostly presence who never speaks), sometimes with Auntie Ted (who wears men's clothes) or with Sonia, his father's new wife. He insists that his name is only the initial, "J", which in his mind stands for "Jesus"; and his death carries an ironic reference to Christ's death. J warns Sonia, the mother of two boys, that his father may diddle them; she confides the troubling warning in Horace, who then, in a chilling speech, utterly lacking in self-knowledge, "explains". Sonia leaves him as a result, and Horace blames J. It is Horace, supposedly in self-defence, who kills J. Keywords: Caledonia, Toronto, gay, father, sex abuse, jail, home, icon, mother This play received a staged reading by The English Theatre, Berlin, Germany, 2015 Genre: Drama, Farce Acts: 1 Run time: 60 minutes Suitable for students 16+ Content notes: The play contains triggers for any sex abuse survivor. It contains street language, masturbation and references to prison sex. Cast size: 4 actors Male roles: 3 Female roles: 4 Trans/Non-Binary/Gender Non-Conforming roles: 2 Other roles: 5 Casting notes: J is in their early 20s. Horace should double as Pete, a park pick-up. Auntie Ted is an old-fashioned trans person in her 50s; she wears men's clothing but is probably celibate. The roles of Aunt Penny, Horace's unsympathetic sister, and Sonia, his second wife, can be doubled: they belong to the same upper middle class, although their personalities are completely different.