Pest Me Pet Me
Created by Alexandra Simpson and Morgan Brie Johnson
Directed by Justin Miller
Toronto, ON | 75 mins
Pest Me Pet Me, created by Alexandra Simpson and Morgan Brie, is a play about two young restaurant workers who get renovicted from their 500-square-foot basement apartment in Toronto. Leading up to their misfortune, the friends encounter two scrappy raccoons who are also frequently forced to evacuate their living spaces in nearby garbage bins.
Within the small quarters of apartment 19B, co-workers Alison and Megan share the dramas of young adulthood. Though strapped for cash, they have charming and relatable moments over a bag of dill pickle Lay’s chips. They build a blanket fort, gossip about restaurant staff, and even record a mystery murder podcast. But just outside their door are a pair of raccoons who are also interested in their discarded Lay’s chips.
This 75-minute horror-comedy, directed by Justin Miller, is a riot of an animal-human conflict. With nasally squeaks and squawks, the two actors make exceptionally convincing raccoons, rolling around or standing on top of one another. At one point in the show, raccoon Rascal pulls an audience member out of their seat, which alters the course of her furry life. When Alison and Megan are counting down the days to their renoviction, they remark how they’re “being treated like animals.”
Through masks, clowning performance, and magic realism, this cute and hilarious play shows that these humans and raccoons share commonality through displacement.
Pest Me Pet Me is at undercurrents until February 12. Tickets are pay-what-you-can, ranging from $5 to $75. For more information and to purchase tickets, see the undercurrrents schedule here.
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