"Well yes. Proud. Yes I do like it here. Love it here. People say the Germans are unfriendly but I don’t find that to be the case."
Mother migrated to Germany 42 years ago. She spent her life cultivating an idyllic German upbringing for her two German-born daughters. Now in her 60s, she teaches an ‘integration’ course for newly arrived migrants, focused on German nature and hiking culture. Oh, and she also has a thing for the local German men. When Mother decides to apply for Germany’s annual National Integration Awards, the patriotic life she has worked hard to maintain begins to unravel. Her daughters watch and comment from the edge of the lake. Hansel and Gretel play games in the shadows. Even the Trees start to weigh in.
Inspired by plays as varied as Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro, Haruna Lee's Suicide Forest, and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Forest People is a surrealist play about modern European identities, failed assimilation attempts, German memorial culture and a lifelong love of Grimms fairytales.
~
Development history:
Reading, Playlab, The Juilliard School, Feb 2026
Reading, Durang Night, The Juilliard School, May 2026
Workshop, Et Alia Theatre Lab, NYC, June-July 2026
Awards & Recognition:
Longlisted, Verity Bargate Award, 2026
Finalist, Et Alia Theatre Lab, 2026
~
Script available on request.