“ I had the great pleasure of playing Cretin the Priest and The Oracle in the Sydney Short+Sweet production of ‘The Blood of a Thousand Chickens’. This is a crowd-pleaser of a play. A very funny and clever spoof on ancient Greek history/mythology. Riotously recommended! ”

Warren Paul Glover
British-Australian writer, actor, and director living in Sydney

It’s not easy being a world leader, a king, or a politician. Not in modern times. Not in ancient times. You try and do what’s right for your people but you’re flawed. Sometimes you do things you shouldn’t. I mean look at Anthony Weiner – he got caught with his pants down – more than once – but even though we might not approve of his behaviour that’s nothing compared to what poor Oedipus did. I mean Weiner didn’t murder his father and marry his mother and gouge out his eyes as a penalty for his actions. And don’t get me wrong I’m not saying just because Weiner’s sins were less than murder that he shouldn’t be held accountable for his Tweets but I have to wonder if Sophocles were alive today and writing about Anthony Weiner instead of Oedipus the King how much more extreme the penalty might have been for poor Tony.

And so I turn my attention back to the earliest beginnings of theatre and my take on the story of Oedipus. My little tale could not have been written without Sophocles sitting down to tell his tale 2500 years ago. So I suppose if I was to dedicate my play to anyone it should be to him because I owe him a debt of gratitude for telling the tale and helping to start this whole wonderful thing we call the theatre. And what I love most about live theatre is its ability to respond to the moment. Anyone who has ever been on stage knows that no two nights of a performance are exactly the same. A play responds to the moods and emotions of the audience just as much as the audience responds to the moods and emotions of the actors.

The Blood of a Thousand Chickens is about Phallus, the son of Oedipus and Jocasta, the King and Queen of Thebes, who wants to marry Clitoris the woman he loves. Unfortunately unknown to Phallus, Clitoris is actually his sister and Oedipus and Jocasta believe that their son’s love for Clitoris is why the Kingdom was cursed by a pox and now faces a terrible drought and possible starvation. So, in order to save his people from the wrath of Zeus, Oedipus must offer the Gods the blood of a thousand chickens and maybe even the life of his own son.

You see being a leader is tough. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices. Although most of the time you don’t have to sacrifice your children.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Oedipus the King
Jocasta the Queen
Phallus the son of Oedipus and Jocasta
Cretin a Priest
The Oracle – Cretin in Drag
Penurious a Farmer

SETTING

The Royal Palace of Thebes

TIME

Ancient Greece

FESTIVALS & AWARDS

2016 – Short+Sweet Sydney Top 80 – Sydney, Australia
2016 – Flathead Valley Community College 2016 International 10 Minute One Act Play Festival – Kalispell, Montana, USA
2016 – Short Listed for Short+Sweet Auckland – Auckland, New Zealand
2016 – Short Listed for Short+Sweet Wellington – Wellington, New Zealand
2016 – Short Listed for Short+Sweet Malaysia 2016
2016 – Short Listed for Short+Sweet Hollywood – Hollywood, California, USA

NOTABLE PRODUCTIONS

2016 – Short+Sweet Sydney – Sydney Australia
Directed by Glen Pead
CAST
Nathan Bennett as Oedipus the King
Keira Bird as Jocasta the Queen
Sebastian Lopez as Phallus the Son of Oedipus and Jocasta
Warren Paul Glover as Cretin the Priest and the Oracle
Nicole Carney as Penurious the Farmer.

2016 International 10 Minute One-Act Play Festival
Flathead Valley Community College Kalispell, Montana, USA.
Director James Vale
CAST
Marcus Hafferman
Jhalen Salazar
Camren Lembke
Tanner Flotre
Frankie Jackson

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The Blood of a Thousand Chickens was partly developed and workshopped through the Alberta Playwrights Network Wordshed program in March 2015 with the participation of Trevor Rueger, Laura Parken, Roberta Mauer-Phillips, and Julie Orton.

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