Photographs by mihaela bodlovic

The Afflicted

conceived and created by groupwork and jake jeppson.

“one of the best debuts on the fringe” - lyn gardner

Fringe First and Scottish Arts Club Winner

In the town of Hope River, New York, a group of twenty-four teenage girls starts behaving strangely – twitching and stuttering uncontrollably and without any cause. They quickly become a national news story and the town becomes a hotbed of fear, fascination and mistrust. is it a case of mass hysteria or something darker?

Inspired by real events and drawing on the conventions of podcast, documentary and horror The Afflicted is an explosive exploration in to the phenomena of mass psychogenic illness. Combining hypnotic choreography, video and text to examine how a community deals with abnormality in its midst.

Presented as part of the made in scotland showcase at the edinburgh fringe festival.

“utterly transfixing” - exeunt

“a darkly elusive hour of theatre with an aftertaste” - the guardian

Creative Team

cast olivia barrowclough, felixe forde, grace gibson (performer and associate artist), amy kennedy direction vicki manderson, finn den hertog choreography vicki manderson text & dramaturgy jake jeppson video lewis den hertog music & sound lewis den hertog design camilla clarke lighting benny goodman stage manager carrie taylor associate producer (for thickskin) carla marina almeida the voice of hope river jessica hardwick additional text the company