The cast has been announced for Tanya Truman Productions and Theatre503’s These Demons, a thrilling new comedy-horror, premiering at Theatre503 this September. Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting, this debut play from writer Rachel Bellman explores Jewish demonology in an intimate family drama about sisterhood, ‘otherness’ and the stigma of the village witch.
The cast includes Olivia Marcus as Leah (Extraordinary, Disney Plus; Stath Lets Flats, Channel 4; Bad Education, BBC Three), 2023 Stage Debut Award nominee Liv Andrusier as Danielle (Ride, Leicester Curve, Southwark Playhouse and Charing Cross Theatre; Little Women, Park Theatre)
and Ann Marcuson (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, National Theatre; The Family Reunion, Donmar Warehouse; Two Ladies, Bridge Theatre) as Mirah.
Directed by Jasmine Teo (The Bevin Boys – London Pub Theatres’ best new play raising awareness 2019; Associate Director, Graceland, Royal Court), These Demons follows 17-year-old Leah as she takes it upon herself to find the person responsible for putting her aunt Mirah in hospital. But as she reaches her aunt’s remote cottage in the woods, old wounds and even older stories from Jewish history and mythology begin to haunt her. By the time her sister Danielle finds her, Leah’s search for answers has become a search for demons – metaphorical and not.
This world premiere asks its audience to consider the assumptions we make about those who are different from us, those we love, and ourselves.
Writer Rachel Bellman comments, I’ve been excited and afraid to tell this story for a number of years now. Jewish demonology isn’t something I learned about while growing up, but as soon as I heard of its existence, I wanted to write about it. The more I tried to research it, the less I felt I knew. To me this is a story about what we do and don’t know about who we are, where we’re from, and all the nagging, darker thoughts that creep up on us but we’re afraid to admit.
These Demons is at Theatre503 Tuesday 26th September – Saturday 14th October 2023
