Feral Monster
Feral Monster
This resource pack, aimed at GCSE and A Level students, explores the themes and artistic process of creating Feral Monster and encourages learners to develop their own creative response to this exciting new musical.
The tasks relate to the “Expressive Arts” area of learning and experience - specifically the specialisms of Drama, Music, Dance and Performing Arts - while threading through ‘cynefin’, a concept that sits across the whole curriculum and is defined as: “the place where we feel we belong, where the people and landscape around us are familiar, and the sights and sounds are reassuringly recognisable.”
The resources take the form of four short films, edited by Jay Bedwani, each featuring a member of the brilliant creative team behind Feral Monster:
- Writer Bethan Marlow
- Director Izzy Rabey
- Movement Director Osian Meilir
- Composer Nicola T. Chang.
Each 10-20 minute film comprises of:
- an interview about the creative’s artistic practice and approach to their work
- an exploration of the creative’s role in the development of Feral Monster
- an in-depth look at two key scenes from the play.
At the end of each film, a task is set for learners to complete in order for them to develop a creative response of their own. Each task follows on from the last, leading to a final piece of Feral Monster-inspired work created by the students themselves.
You may decide to share these final pieces as performances for assessment, for sharing with a wider audience or you may even like to film and then share with NTW to platform the talents of your pupils and shine a light on your own school or college.
The play text is available for purchase through Parthian with thanks to the generous support of the Principality Building Society.
Feral Monster introduced me to new techniques I’d never seen before. It creatively dealt with serious topics and issues that people face daily.
Student
When I asked [a student] if they enjoyed it they smiled and said "Miss, that was madness".
Teacher
Watch the interviews
Watch Scene 4 and Scene 11
Useful information
Suggested use of the films
Throughout the films the key questions will appear on screen, serving as a perfect point at which to pause and reflect on the previous answers.
Each film could be watched and discussed over two lessons with additional lessons to study the specified scenes plus develop, rehearse and perform their own responses. This means that the entire project could take up to ten lessons to complete.
Suggested lesson order
We have created these films with the following plan in mind, though they are all adaptable to suit your learners and your teaching style. We suggest that they’re viewed in the following order:
- Interview with Bethan Marlow, followed by the written task.
- Interview with Izzy Rabey, followed by the directing task.
- Interview with Osian Meilir, followed by the movement task.
- Interview with Nicola T. Chang, followed by the music task.
These lessons have been designed with collaboration/group work in mind, though pupils may wish to complete certain tasks alone. There is also the opportunity for cross-curricular collaboration across the disciplines of Drama, Music, Dance and Performing Arts.
About Feral Monster
Feral Monster is the story of unremarkable teen, Jax, as she/they/whatever navigates love, sexuality, identity, family and the many parts of her loud, opinionated brain.
Expelled from school and not even able to get a job at the chippy, Jax is a ‘cheeky, loveable teenage street rat’ living with her Nan in a ‘tiny, boring village’. Against a backdrop of neurons and axons singing in their head, Jax’s brain gives a running commentary on everything they do, don't do or shouldn’t do. When Jax spots Ffion coming out of the chippy, with their unapologetically loud hair and clothes, sparks fly and queer teenage lust brings together this unlikely match in all its messy, clumsy and awesome glory.
Feral Monster celebrates all teenagers by choosing to spotlight the most mundane teenager in Jax. Anyone who’s ever been a teen will see themselves in this story, as writer Bethan Marlow’s script takes us from the high highs to low lows of the hormonal rollercoaster of adolescence. Alongside identity, sexuality and family, Feral Monster explores friendship, mental health, living in rural Wales, middle-class queerness versus working-class queerness, the impact of being abandoned by parents, and second chances.
Content information
Feral Monster is recommended for 14+. It contains strong language as well as:
References to: exploration of gender identity and sexuality, pornography, sex, death, self harm, childhood trauma, mental ill health, poverty and drugs.
Depictions of: alcoholism, violence, knife crime, sexual activity.
Theatrical representation of: suicide
With thanks to Ayesha Rees Khan, a counsellor who read through the script and gave advice on the content information.
About the creative team
The creative team all identify as LGBTQIA+, including:
Writer Bethan Marlow, a Welsh theatre-maker and screenwriter focused on telling queer and female stories. Past theatre credits include Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, Theatr Clwyd, Pentabus Theatre, RSC and Sherman Theatre.
Director Izzy Rabey, also a musician and facilitator who won the Selar Award 2022 for contributions to Welsh language and culture and has worked at The Royal Court (where she was Trainee Director 2020-2021), Theatr Clwyd, Pentabus, English Touring Company and has worked in Kenya, the USA, India as well as the UK.
Movement Director Osian Meilir, a performer, movement artist and choreographer who has recently created a new work on the National Dance Company Wales as part of their 4x10 project this summer and has also been touring his own choreographic creation, QWERIN, in festivals and venues across the UK and Internationally.
Nicola T. Chang is an award-winning composer/sound designer for theatre and film, whose recent work includes acclaimed shows: For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy (Apollo Theatre West End / Royal Court Jerwood Downstairs / New Diorama) and My Neighbour Totoro (RSC / Barbican).
Vocabulary
This play offers an exploration of the uniqueness of the teenage brain, moving seamlessly between the action “in real life” and the action with Jax’s brain. The following information may help your learners when they come to develop their own creative responses to Scene 4 and Scene 12.
The Right Amygdala plays a role in the expression of fear and in the processing of fear-inducing stimuli.
The Left Amygdala is associated with verbal and sustained emotional processing.
The Cerebrum manages conscious thoughts; meaning, things that you actively think about or do.
The Pituitary Gland controls metabolism, growth, sexual maturation, reproduction, blood pressure and many other vital physical functions.
The Prefrontal Cortex is responsible for skills like planning, prioritising and making good decisions.
Feral Monster is sponsored by the Principality Building Society and supported by PRS Foundation’s The Open Fund, John Ellerman Foundation, as part of NTWs’ Dramaturg programme, Jack Arts and by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which is being administered by Cardiff Council.
