Cast Size:  5—6

Genre:  adaptation, dark comedy, fable/folktale, satire

Synopsis

The Prodigal Daughter is a darkly comic, gender-swapped reimagining of the biblical tale. Polly, the restless younger daughter of a struggling bingo-hall owner, demands her inheritance and leaves home in search of a more exciting life. Her dutiful older sister, Marjorie, is furious. Not only does Polly’s departure threaten the family business but their father has always indulged and protected Polly while taking Marjorie’s loyalty for granted. After squandering her money, Polly returns home destitute and ill, and their father welcomes her back with unquestioning love.

Meanwhile, Marjorie’s determination to rescue the bingo hall leads her into a dangerous money-laundering scheme with a small-time con artist. As the sisters’ fortunes reverse, Marjorie finally abandons the family she has spent her life supporting, leaving Polly, their father, and Sara, the bingo hall’s recovering-alcoholic barmaid, to escape the violent consequences of her choices. Overseen by an opinionated Storyteller who insists that the original parable’s meaning should remain unchanged, the play questions whether parental love is ever truly equal and whether forgiveness can conceal favoritism, injustice, and neglect.