Johnjoe and Jim clash over the wearing of a poppy. The best friends address what the symbol represents to their respective heritage and attempt to navigate their way through this historic subject matter in relation to their friendship and the British Empire’s devastating, lasting impact in Ireland and how this affects their relationship.
This naturalistic conversation develops into surreal hypotheticals that explore autonomy, societal expectations and childhood memories. Amidst this, their relationship falters as they both realise they are fundamentally different people . Poppies depicts a modern day tragedy of stubbornness, repressed anger and identity in a time where this lack of footing soft launches so many young men into dangerous ideals.
"Our children live in the most deprived ward in London and their parents cannot afford to pay for the classes and activities many more privileged children enjoy after school and at the weekends. A free-to-access youth group run by a local theatre in a professional setting is an incredible opportunity."
Local school teacher
