The Pitchfork Disney is a 1991 stage play by Philip Ridley. It was his 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 realises Cosmo's true motives, and breaks the finger with which be assaulted Haley. Cosmo flees. Pitchfork briefly returns, terrifies Presley and then leaves. Haley awakes, and the two 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 monologues, 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."