Creature
by Heidi Schreck

Name: Creature
Brand: Heidi Schreck
SKU: 9780573698897
Rating: 3.5 (26 reviews)

Highlights

Small Cast

Female

Male

Medieval (6th-14th Century)Expandable CastingUnit Set/Multiple SettingsReligious Christmas Comedy

What readers are saying

Readers have mixed feelings about the play, appreciating its exploration of postpartum depression and the patriarchy while critiquing its structure and clarity. Several found the individual scenes enjoyable, yet some felt the narrative lacked coherence or depth. Despite these critiques, many found elements of humor and interests within the material.

Explores postpartum depression wellHumorous and interesting momentsEngaging character studyInconsistent narrative structureEnding lacks clarity

Synopsis

Characters: 3 male 3 femaleComedyAfter being pestered by devils for more than half a year Margery Kempe - new mother mayor's daughter and proprietress of a highly profitable beer business - is liberated from her torment by a vision of Jesus Christ in purple robes

Visions are hard to come by even in 1401.

Should we trust the new Margery with her fasting and her weeping and her chastity fixation or burn her with the other heretics?

Can a woman of insatiable appetites just up a

Press Reviews

"[Creature] indicates that the talented [Heidi Schreck] is a playwright to watch!"
— New York Post

"Saints can be hell to live with. That's part of the comedy of Creature, Heidi Schreck's absorbing new play about character and faith, loosely based on the life of Margery Kempe, a medieval Englishwoman who, after a difficult childbirth, saw visions of the Devil and Jesus."
— The New York Times

"Spooky and a little ooky, but Creature is no ordinary fright fest. The superstitious fears and horrors Heidi Schreck conjures up in her offbeat historical play about the 15th-century English mystic Margery Kempe are largely psychological — and not unfamiliar to any modern woman stressed out by the demands of a new baby and a childish husband. Without denying the significance of religious faith in the intellectual darkness of the Middle Ages, scribe coyly suggests that having mystical visions was a great way for a clever woman to escape her onerous domestic duties and become a celebrity."
— Variety

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
John Kempe her husband	female	—	her husband
Father Thomas a priest	—	—	a priest
Juliana an anchoress	—	—	an anchoress
Nurse	—	—	—
Jacob a young man	—	—	a young man
Asmodeus a devil (may be played by Jacob)	—	—	a devil (may be played by Jacob)
A Hazelnut (to be played by Juliana)	—	—	(to be played by Juliana)
Margery Kempe the mayor’s daughter	female	—	the mayor’s daughter