Daughter

by Adam Lazarus

Here is a father who loves his daughter. You can tell from the way he held her when she was born after a difficult delivery; you can tell from the way he dances with her to her favourite songs; you can tell from the way he will do anything to protect her. He's not going to apologise for every other little thing he's ever done. Who knows, you might have done them too... Told with unsettling charm, Daughter is a darkly satirical monologue about fatherhood, love and toxic masculinity, by Canadian playwright and performer Adam Lazarus. Daughter received its UK premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2018, where it became one of the most talked about shows at the festival, before transferring to Battersea Arts Centre, London, in 2020. This edition contains the complete text of the play alongside an introduction by the author and essays about the impact of the play and the issues it raises.

Genres: Plays, Theatre

46 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2020

Reviews

[Liralen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodness. I strongly want to never see this performed. That's the point, of course; here is this man who is toxic masculinity personified. It's a short play, so he shifts rapidly from 'doting father' to 'festering ball of toxic toxicity' and never really comes back. Just violence and excuses and objectification and on and on it goes.

Again: that's the point. But there must, broadly, be two sets of reactions here that the writer is going for—one from people (mostly men) who have acted in or thought this way, and one from people (including most women?) who have not. I'm not entirely sure what the takeaway for the latter group is, but it's not particularly pleasant.

[Pete Taller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A punch in the face. A wake up call to the banality of evil toxic masculinity. I saw this show performed. It's a masterpiece. The audience is ON-THE-HOOK.