PLASTIC

$5.40 – $15.00

Plastic is a satirical thriller set in the world of science publishing. Franz Henrik Schulz is a young German physicist. After landing a job at a prestigious laboratory, he struggles to find his footing in the high stakes world of academic publishing and research. When he can't repeat the results of his ground breaking discovery about superconducting plastics, he begins to fabricate his data. While this rockets him to physics super stardom, it strains his personal relationships with colleagues and his lies begin compound. When he is publicly denounced at a conference, Schulz's frauds are brought to light. He is systematically stripped of everything he worked for. The formal "game" of the play relies on the stability of the naturalism in the piece dissolving throughout the performance, mirroring Schulz's increasingly desperate attempts to make his materials behave the way he wants them to. In doing so, this play dramatises the pressure to produce value as a scientist and the fantasy of unlimited economic growth under late-capitalism.

APT