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Radiant Vermin
I feel this . . . thing inside me. Just here. Next to my heart. It's small. The size of sparrow. I don't know what it looks like. But I know it's got claws because it scratches. And I imagine it to be dark blue - mauve almost - like the veins on my mum's hands. I hear it talking. Its voice is high pitched and screeching. It's talking about all the things we've done.
A wickedly comic satire about a young couple offered a way out of the housing crisis, and just how far they're prepared to go for it.
Ollie and Jill want to tell you about their dream home. Some of the things they did to get it, you might find shocking. But they want you to know they did it all for their baby . . .
A hilarious and outrageous black comedy from internationally acclaimed 'master of modern myth' ( Guardian ) Philip Ridley. Playful, provocative and viciously sharp, Radiant Vermin is a meditation on how far we will go to satisfy our materialistic greed.
The play received its world premiere on 10 March 2015 at Soho Theatre, London.
A wickedly comic satire about a young couple offered a way out of the housing crisis, and just how far they're prepared to go for it.
Ollie and Jill want to tell you about their dream home. Some of the things they did to get it, you might find shocking. But they want you to know they did it all for their baby . . .
A hilarious and outrageous black comedy from internationally acclaimed 'master of modern myth' ( Guardian ) Philip Ridley. Playful, provocative and viciously sharp, Radiant Vermin is a meditation on how far we will go to satisfy our materialistic greed.
The play received its world premiere on 10 March 2015 at Soho Theatre, London.
115 pages, Paperback
First published March 20, 2015
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79 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 15, 2025
What lengths am I willing to go to get us in a new home? How much of my soul have I lost in the process?
Radiant Vermin ~~~ Philip Ridley
Bloody Brilliant.
I’m continuing my quest to read contemporary plays with Philip Ridley’s new, dark, twisted comedy, Radiant Vermin . It is a brilliant work, an actor’s dream and Ridley’s most accessible work.
“Jill and Ollie would like to tell us about their dream home, and what they had to do to get it. Many of the things they did weren’t very nice at all. But they want you to know they did it all for their son, so he could have the perfect childhood away from the Red Ocean Estate. But were they right to do so? Pride, greed, and the supernatural collide in this grim yet devilishly funny satire.”
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The subject of Ridley’s brilliant attack is the current housing market crisis, homelessness, and middle-class white washing. But as well as being extraordinarily funny and surprisingly dark, Radiant Vermin is still very provoking. I never knew whether I was laughing with or at the characters. This is what makes this piece so challenging: you are laughing at the eccentricities that prettify something that’s deeply wrong and distressing in our society. Everything here is a rainbow colored nightmare that’s as surreal as it is brash, mocking our own perceptions of the very real and important subjects presented here. Radiant Vermin is so wicked, incredibly smart, and hysterically raw, with sharp, quick-witted, and unexpected jokes that make you roar with laughter as much as you flinch in distaste throughout.
Radiant Vermin ~~~ Philip Ridley
Bloody Brilliant.
I’m continuing my quest to read contemporary plays with Philip Ridley’s new, dark, twisted comedy, Radiant Vermin . It is a brilliant work, an actor’s dream and Ridley’s most accessible work.
“Jill and Ollie would like to tell us about their dream home, and what they had to do to get it. Many of the things they did weren’t very nice at all. But they want you to know they did it all for their son, so he could have the perfect childhood away from the Red Ocean Estate. But were they right to do so? Pride, greed, and the supernatural collide in this grim yet devilishly funny satire.”
[image error]
The subject of Ridley’s brilliant attack is the current housing market crisis, homelessness, and middle-class white washing. But as well as being extraordinarily funny and surprisingly dark, Radiant Vermin is still very provoking. I never knew whether I was laughing with or at the characters. This is what makes this piece so challenging: you are laughing at the eccentricities that prettify something that’s deeply wrong and distressing in our society. Everything here is a rainbow colored nightmare that’s as surreal as it is brash, mocking our own perceptions of the very real and important subjects presented here. Radiant Vermin is so wicked, incredibly smart, and hysterically raw, with sharp, quick-witted, and unexpected jokes that make you roar with laughter as much as you flinch in distaste throughout.
April 30, 2018
This is a great satire piece and an actor's dream challenge! The only thing stopping me from giving it five stars is that it was a bit long. Maybe it plays quicker onstage? Clocking in at 115 pages, the work seems to get repetitive and some parts do not seem all that important to the story. Id this was shortened up to be a one act it would be way more explosive and effective.
February 22, 2024
اجرای متوسطی ازش دیدم ولی به نظرم متن شاهکاره!
February 24, 2016
One of Ridley's more accessible plays of recent times... ends with a virtuosic tour de force, where the two main actors must quickly convey about a dozen different characters at a party, which must be something to see done on stage.
March 21, 2025
Impressive play, a rather Beckettian style that works structurally with repetitions with a difference is very ambigious and innovative in meaning making or rewriting the past by simultaneously addressing similar necropolitics that are not really part of the past but actually present. A great play that criticizes capitalism, consumerism, society and politics in a quite but dark humerous way that makes its audience accomplice. Brilliant but brutal! Must read and it will take you by surprise in the end. One of the best playwrights!
June 18, 2023
No two Philip Ridley plays are the same. I have to say this is probably my favourite of his plays. The lightness of touch really brings out the darkness of the tale. I love it.
November 2, 2018
A brilliant play, possibly the first by Ridley to use humour for a serious topic. It makes the characters all the more pathetic as they should be. If there`s a chance to see it performed, do not miss it, too!
July 26, 2015
Such a brilliant play!
December 1, 2018
Not for me...at all.
May 19, 2019
When is enough, enough? Love this play for it's satirical approach. I did find it a bit difficult to get (reason I gave it 4 stars) into but once there I couldn't put it down. One morality play, I would love to see this on stage. The couple are both likeable and loathsome at the same time.
July 4, 2024
Although a little one noted ( capitalism bad) in terms of subject, this provides an excellent opportunity for actors to play and explore. Especially in the final scene where they are playing at least 3 different characters all at once who are all talking to each other.
May 13, 2017
Brilliant! I want to direct this play!!
May 20, 2017
Fantastic concept. Wonderfully twisted. Very intrigued by Philip Ridley now, gimme more.
February 18, 2019
Funny with well-paced dialogue. A bit too surreal to be an effective satire.
March 12, 2019
The classic "what would you do to get what you want?" but not that interesting. It's a satire and humorous (barely) but doesn't handle the conflict with nuance.
July 4, 2020
Felt like it took kind of a strange turn in the third act but I dug the overall vibe and message. And I’m a sucker for a black comedy.
July 20, 2021
Read this in hopes of possibly being able to include it in next years 7th grade curriculum. Would be a great into to satire & Jonathan Swift
April 27, 2022
Have seen this play in my home city over 7 years ago. I am still shaken by it.
Reading this script was so intense. The best capitalism critique there ever was.
Reading this script was so intense. The best capitalism critique there ever was.
Read
April 7, 2024rats!
August 4, 2024
black comedy indeed
November 17, 2025
a nonstop, anxiety-inducing spiral of chaos that i wish i could see live 🥲
February 27, 2024
Una idea muy interesante para echar el rato con una crítica abordada de forma ansiosa, visceral.
August 29, 2020
This play has a lot going for it. 3 stars might even seem a little harsh, considering the quality of the writing. But the truth is, it's a little too didactic. The action a little too drawn out. What is a wonderful idea for a social critique play, that murdering a homeless person can magically renovate a room in a house, which is really just a speeding up of the real process, did not constitute 115 pages / over 2 hours of drama. Philip Ridley is a great writer, but this is not one of his greatest plays.
Having said that, I'd still watch it.
Having said that, I'd still watch it.
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April 7, 20252020: NSDA HI Finalist
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews