“I’ve seen red flags and taken them away”
From Red Oak Theatre, the Sherman’s Company in Residence, comes Sian De Bergerac—a sharp, funny, and devastating new play by acclaimed Welsh writer Emma Cooney.
In the wake of her father’s death, Sian is drifting — until she stumbles across a bizarre lifeline: a job ad seeking ghostwriters for men on dating apps.
Hired for her romantic writing style, Sian becomes a Professional Catfish, charming women on behalf of very wealthy men. As she engineers relationships for strangers, she begins to lose her grip on her own. How far can Sian bend to satisfy the men in her life? And can she outrun her grief?
Colliding the intimacy of a bedroom with the fast-paced world of dating apps, this design-led, AV-driven production takes an unsettling look at modern romance, identity, and power dynamics. A portrait of a young woman navigating grief, desire, and the surreal world of professional catfishing, Sian De Bergerac questions how easily care can become coercion, and what we settle for to avoid being on our own.
You will be pulled directly into the story through an ambitious, visually immersive design. Merging live performance with multiple projection points, the production features creative captioning artistically embedded into the video design of every single performance, ensuring an urgent, accessible, and unforgettable theatre experience.
This production has been made in partnership with Silence Speaks Now and Our Streets Now. Red Oak would also like to thank Arts Council Wales, Philip Carne Foundation and the Ashley Family Foundation for their continued financial support.