SLAC’s ‘Radiant Vermin’ — advocacy theater
Vermin radiate — at a SLAC staging offering an avenue to support the unhoused community.
As a communal experience, a live staging has a uniquely vigorous power to inspire and educate theatergoers. Radiant Vermin, a Jan. 11–14 production at Salt Lake Acting Company, has that objective as it illustrates the dire situation of securing affordable housing.
Playwright Philip Ridley’s “outrageously pitch-black comedy” tells the story of Ollie and Jill as they search for a new home. Ollie (played by the nonbinary Mack Barr) is female presenting using male pronouns; Jill (played Sophie White) is female presenting using female pronouns; and Jill is pregnant. The Londoners are offered an ideal house by a mysterious stranger, and the play asks, How far would you go to get your dream home?
Explaining the play’s title, director Camden Barrett says, “At the beginning of the play, Ollie describes setting mice traps. We then witness the same action devolve and subsequently dehumanize an unsheltered population. There are glowing ramifications of ‘prosperity’ — or perhaps hellfire.”
Originally produced as a University of Utah senior project, Radiant Vermin aims to raise awareness of the city’s growing unsheltered crisis. The Utah Office of Homeless Services reported a 10 percent increase in newly unhoused individuals in fiscal 2022.
Beyond entertaining theatergoers and revealing an unfathomable, unsheltered situation, Radiant Vermin is a call to action, according to the all-queer team of producers (and actors), with suggestions on how audiences can help. The production company pledges to donate a portion of ticket sales to the Inn Between, which provides hospice care to the unsheltered, and in-kind donations are solicited for the 4th Street Clinic.
“We were not about to stage this play without acknowledging and acting upon our intentions to help bring awareness to the housing crisis and to share resources to help those most vulnerable,” Barrett says.
The play is an opportunity for collective thought and dialogue: “This project has always been about how we ignite a conversation in our community about the housing crisis.”
“We hope our audiences don’t stop there,” adds Sophie White, who plays the role of Jill. “Our goal is to inspire them to demand better from local political officials. We encourage continued support through donations not only for our organizations but also for the many other organizations making a positive impact in Utah.
“For those unable to contribute financially, we urge individuals to donate their time, rallying groups of friends to volunteer. There is a significant amount of work to be done, and collective efforts can bring about meaningful change.”
Radiant Vermin is the inaugural production of the Making Space for Artists program initiated by the powerhouse SLAC, produced at the company’s smaller Chapel Theatre.
“There is something quite exciting about staging Radiant Vermin in what was formerly an LDS chapel,” the director notes. “The themes of religion and making choices informed by one’s religious convictions are the veins of this play.”
“The Chapel Theatre’s history also aligns seamlessly with the themes of the show. It adds an extra depth and irony to lines invoking religious, moral values,” White says, quoting, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Radiant Vermin opened on London’s West End in 2015 and was staged in New York the following year as part of the Brits Off Broadway Festival.
Producers cite 4th Street Clinic and the Inn Between as Utah organizations making a positive impact, which also include the Road Home, Ending Homelessness in Utah, Family Promise Salt Lake, Rescue Mission of Salt Lake, and Volunteers of America.
Radiant Vermin runs January 11–14 at Salt Lake Acting Company Chapel Theatre, 168 W. 500 North. Tickets available at tickets.saltlakeactingcompany.org
