Cast:  2 female, 1 male

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If he ripped away the most precious thing in your life…

And the justice system let you down…

And you were a prisoner of grief, watching him thrive...

What would you want to do? 

What would you do?

 

Every single day innocent people become victims.  Lives are violently and suddenly cut short by strangers or by people with misplaced trust.  It’s happening more and more.  And the families left behind are changed forever.  They grieve.  They blame.  They hate.  They are victims too. 

 

Every now and then, right or wrong, a victim acts on instinct. 

 

INSTINCT is an original, New Zealand one-act play by Wellington actor and playwright April Phillips.

 

A taut and confronting thriller that explores truth, revenge, and personal justice.  Influenced by plays such as Ariel Dorfman’s “Death and the Maiden” and Gary Henderson’s “Mo and Jess killed Susie” the audience is a fly-on-the-wall witness to a tense and intimate hostage drama.

 

Two ordinary, everyday women stand before a bound hostage in an abandoned warehouse.  They are armed with a gun, a knife and a video camera.  Barbara is overwhelmed by suspicion and doubt.  She wants answers.  Carol is bitter, calculated and steadfast.  She wants justice, and perhaps revenge. 

 

“On trial” is the stocky and resilient sports coach Gavin Hunt.  Control and purpose break down during the interrogation as emotion and gut instinct take over in a battle of wills. 

 

The confrontation and shifts in power hurtle towards a startling and chilling climatic twist. 

 

Was he guilty or innocent?

Was she deluded by grief or was her instinct right?

Was justice served?

And if it were you, what would you do?

 

Content and themes not suitable for children.