Connections 2023: Samphire

Performed by Aberystwyth Arts Centre Youth Theatre

A play about school, special educational needs, love, independence and life in rural Suffolk.

Alicia is neurodiverse due to her mother’s substance abuse when she was pregnant with Alicia. However, she does not want her neurodiversity to define her.

Alicia now lives in a children’s home, and Jake lives in a shed. They are a couple, though Jake shows way more affection to his dog (a lurcher) than he ever does to Alicia. They rob farms for animals to eat. But when they steal a piglet from Chelle’s dad’s farm it’s a big mistake – a bridge too far and their dreams of a house share in Leiston and working in the local nuclear power station are put in jeopardy.

A Suffolk story. A rural story. A story with dogs, marshlands, prejudice, detention, emotional blocks, frustrations, neo-fascists, flirting, fallings out, threats of police action and a demon dog.

Jake and Alicia are no ordinary couple – they’re special and they don’t belong… allegedly.

Content guidance

• Recommended for ages 16+
• One instance of strong language.
• References to masturbation.
• Violence against an animal, portrayed in a non-naturalistic way.
• Reference to the death of a child (unseen, offstage).
• References to drug and alcohol abuse.
• Discussions around consent.
• Within the play there is a brief scene featuring an extremist group, who use some
  Islamophobic language.