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Will You Taste Our Blood engages with themes of sexual violence, consent, anxiety, and hook-up culture. It is a re-imagining of the Greek tragedy The Bacchae.* The Bacchae, also known as Maenads, are the hyper-sexualized, demonized, and unruly feminine worshippers of Dionysus — the God of wine, sex, and revelry. 

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We often learn about sex, desire, and pleasure in an unforgiving and oppressive social environment. This play is an attempt to reclaim demonized and distorted feminine sexuality; an effort at exposure and transgression. The Maenads are indefinite, impassioned, and desiring. They are an anxious feeling in your gut that makes you want to climb out of your own skin. 

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The show is unruly and embodied, weaving elements of Greek theatre with physical theatre. The first staging of this piece was co-directed by Adri Vanos and myself. Adri is a talented and visionary theatre maker with many years of experience in directing, as well as specifically with physical theatre. They are also a close friend of mine. Their work made the first production of Will You Taste Our Blood come to life. These are Adri's words on the February 2020 production:

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The chorus in Will You Taste Our Blood tackles their role in a unique way through the addition of devised movement. Each movement piece in the show is rooted in discussion so that it displays an intention and story that is unique to each actor’s experience.  Each movement is subject to multiple interpretations by both the actors and the audience. This kind of devised theatrical movement and embodiment allows actors to tell a subjective, experiential story. I hope that these beautiful movement pieces allow you to connect with the actors and the stories they are telling in a meaningful way. I am immensely proud of the actors for stepping outside of their comfort zones, engaging so meaningfully in conversation, and for being so open to this new experience. If you’re new to this type of theatre, I hope that you too can consider stepping outside of your comfort zone to embrace the vulnerability and strength that is involved in the performance tonight. 

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I would like to thank Abi Cuevas, for his insights and written contributions on maleness and masculinity. Thank you as well to all of the other readers, editors, and critical contributors who helped create this show and script. I have awe and gratitude for Emma Rath, who designed our beautiful posters. Thanks to my brother, Chris Clarke, for creating music that has both amplified my vision and enhanced this production in ways that I could never have imagined. 

*Some of the choral passages in this script are alterations of text from Ian Johnston's translation of The Bacchae, published by Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, BC (2003). These passages are used with the translator's permission.