A local writer’s new play is going to show Manhattan audiences a side of Bushwick they’ve probably never seen — or imagined.
“Spoons” is set in a Bushwick apartment and tells the story of a socially anxious sportswriter and his new female friend, a professional cuddler he employed.
As Brad and Molly form a fragile bond over the course of paid intimacy sessions, they begin to struggle with self-imposed boundaries and preconceived ideas about what a friendship really is. A meditation on loneliness, recovery, and trust, “Spoons” takes a deep dive into the chaos of seeking companionship in a disconnected age.
The play mainly details the lives of its characters, but there are lots of references to other things in Bushwick, such as the hell of shuttle busses, the taco truck at Myrtle/Wyckoff, and Maria Hernandez Park.
“I was inspired to set the play in Bushwick because I genuinely love the neighborhood and wanted to portray people just living their lives there, without just playing into the usual tropes of [millennial] hipsters and 70s crime,” playwright and producer Ben Firke told Bushwick Daily.
Firke’s work has been performed in Chicago, Los Angeles, and with the Shelter and Tank theater companies in New York City.
“Spoons” is running at The Tank, 312 W.36th St., from April 24-26 at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $15 and you can get them here.
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Cover image courtesy of Ben Firke