People say life's too short, it's not. It's too bloody long. There's too much time and too many ways to fill it, all those hours in all those days, all those choices you have to make.' Sam's eighteen and her life's about to start. Zoe's forty-something and hers never did. They don't have much in common. Just a love of '80s new wave, and an illness that wants them dead. Thrown together in an eating disorder unit, their most intimate secrets exposed, they form a complicated bond. But when another patient turns the ward into chaos, they're forced to confront a difficult question: if an institution is the thing keeping you safe, how are you supposed to cope when you leave? Authentic, witty and profoundly compassionate, Laura Waldren's play Some Demon won the Papatango New Writing Prize and the Clive Richards Foundation Writer in Residence Bursary, and was first produced by Papatango Theatre Company at the Arcola Theatre, London, and Bristol Old Vic in 2024.
"'An astonishing debut, a drama which gives a fresh insight into NHS eating disorder treatment centres. Ambitious, astute and utterly gripping, Some Demon demonstrates precisely why the industry needs to actively invest in developing new voices... Waldren's witty script is also full of one-line zingers that help make this play simultaneously educational, informative and hugely entertaining. Waldre
Telegraph
"'Powerfully affecting and clear eyed... unflinching and empathetic'"
The Stage
"'Searing... homes in on the hellish cycles and contradictions caused by an eating disorder'"
