Hir by Taylor Mac

“Sometimes you spend an entire lifetime preparing for something to be one way and right from the start it’s another.”

Dishonourably discharged from the army, Afghanistan vet Isaac has returned to find his family and Californian childhood home in disarray.

His abusive and controlling father, Arnold, has suffered a stroke and is now helplessly dependent on his wife, Paige, who is finally getting her revenge after a lifetime of oppression, waging war on the patriarchy by refusing to clean.

Meanwhile, his younger sibling Max is exploring ‘hir’ identity, desperately searching for a way to fit in and buoyed by an almost-too-supportive mother.

When PTSD and waning male privilege collide with clown makeup and plans for radical communes, ‘home’ explodes.

This satirical take-down of the USA, war, money, family and gender, asks compelling questions about identity, belonging, trauma and redemption.