Overview
Set in the Midwest, The Binding tells the story of Isaac, a deeply closeted, religious teen whose childhood imaginary friend, Poppy, returns on the eve of his sixteenth birthday. As Poppy begins to unravel Isaac’s tightly wound secrets, both must learn to escape the smothering identities they have chosen. The Binding is a play about the ecstasy and pain of believing in something that can’t be seen.
Casting & Production
Casting
ISAAC — A good boy. 16. Male.
POPPY — An Imaginary Companion. 20s. Female.
JILL — A youth pastor, Isaac’s mother. 40s. Female.
ARISPA — Vice President of the Bureau. 30s. Female.
TREVOR — A Boy Scout. 17. Male
Production Note:
Characters can be played by actors of any race. If your audience resists this idea, tell them to use their imaginations, because imagination is what this play is about in the first place.
Setting
Small rural town in Indiana. 2001.
Reviews
“Dwiggins approaches his stories and characters from an angle most writers never think to explore, and then makes it his primary angle. His methods of exploration are singular, resulting in curious, empathetic yet darkly resonant stage plays as full of modern American hurt as they are seeping with fantasy.”
—Philip Dawkins, writer of Failure: A Love Story and Charm
