The Pitchfork Disney (1991)

The Pitchfork Disney is a 1991 stage play by Philip Ridley. It was Ridley's first professional stage work, having also produced work as a visual artist, novelist, filmmaker, and scriptwriter for film and radio. The play premiered at the Bush Theatre in London, UK in 1991 and was directed by Matthew Lloyd, who directed most of Ridley's subsequent early plays.

Although initially met with negative critical reviews for its script, the production was enthusiastically received by predominantly young audiences, making it something of a controversial hit. Over time, the play has come to be regarded as a seminal work in the confrontational 1990s style and sensibility of British drama termed in-yer-face theatre.

The play is the first entry in Ridley's unofficially titled "East End Gothic Trilogy", followed by The Fastest Clock in the Universe and Ghost from a Perfect Place.

In 2015, the script was republished as part of the Methuen Drama Modern Classics series, recognising the play's impact on modern British theatre.

Synopsis

The play opens with the characters of Presley and Haley, two adults living alone in the East End of London. They lead a childish fantasy existence, subsisting mostly on chocolate. Their parents died a decade before, although their exact fate is not described. They tell each other stories and discuss their dreams and fears.

From their window, they see two men, one of whom is apparently sick. Agitated, Haley sucks on a drugged dummy and goes to sleep. Despite their fear of outsiders, Presley brings the sick man in, who promptly vomits on the floor. The man introduces himself as Cosmo Disney, and explains that he and his partner are showmen. His sickness is caused by the fact that his particular talent consists of eating insects and small animals. Cosmo emotionally manipulates Presley who tells Cosmo about a recurring dream he has, involving a serial killer named 'The Pitchfork Disney'.

Almost immediately after Presley finishes his story, Cosmo's partner arrives—a huge, masked, apparently mute figure named Pitchfork Cavalier. His act is simply taking his mask off to reveal his hideously deformed face. He sings a wordless song, dances with the unconscious Haley and eats some chocolate. Cosmo convinces Presley to accompany Pitchfork to the shops, promising friendship. As soon as they leave, Cosmo performs a sexual assault on Haley by inserting one of his fingers soaked in medicine into her mouth. Presley unexpectedly returns and, realising Cosmo's true motives, breaks the finger with which he had assaulted Haley. Cosmo flees. Pitchfork briefly returns, terrifies Presley and then leaves. Haley awakes and both her and Presley express their fear.

Themes and interpretation

The play is a dreamlike piece with surreal elements. It primarily deals with fear, particularly childhood fears. Dreams and stories are also explored, and indeed, the entire play can be interpreted as a dream.

Another recurring theme is that of snakes, being described by Presley in two monologues. In the first he describes killing one in a frying pan; and in the second, seeing one kill a mouse in the reptile house of a zoo and then later coming home and watching a television programme about a Christian cult who worship snakes. Cosmo himself can be interpreted as being a manifestation of a snake as he eats insects and small animals, claims to have hatched from an egg, and that he got new skin from unzipping and throwing away the skin he had as a baby. In one monologue, Presley describes seeing a snake shed its skin to reveal bright red new skin. This description seems to echo Cosmo, who enters the play wearing a long black overcoat which he takes off to reveal a red-sequinned jacket.

Concerning interpretations of The Pitchfork Disney, Ridley said in 2016 that "Every time it’s revived it means something different. There’s a production of it on in Canada at the moment which in the present climate is being seen as a play about terrorism – about the fear of the outside coming in and the fear of change. A few years ago it was about the fear of sex, intimacy, of being touched... [my plays are] like tuning forks, they vibrate with whatever’s going on in the atmosphere at the time."

Development

Ridley began writing the play while as a student at St Martin's School of Art. As part of his studies he had created a series of performance art pieces, which Ridley performed in art galleries, consisting of long fast-paced monologues that depicted dream sequences and characters with shifting identities. Some of Ridley's friends, who were leaving art school to pursue acting, suggested that his monologues would make a good basis for a stage play. He began writing The Pitchfork Disney based on two of his monologues—about a character who was afraid of everything, and one who was afraid of nothing—imagining what would happen if the characters met.

Elements of the play might be based on events from Ridley's life. Describing his experience as a child visiting Brick Lane Market, Ridley said "I saw a snake charmer there once. And you could have your photograph taken with monkeys wearing red jackets. I've got a photo of me holding the two poor creatures. All three of us look terrified." In his semiautobiographical prose Introduction to his first collection of plays, Ridley describes how, when he was 18 years old, he saw a man in a pub wearing a red sequined jacket eat a variety of insects onstage for entertainment.

One of Ridley's St Martins tutors advised him to send the play to a dramatic agent. He sent it to the agent Rod Hall, who Ridley says called him a few days later saying "I've just read your play. I don't know what it is. I don't know what to make of it. But all I do know is that I've never quite read anything like it before. So come in and we'll get it on somewhere."