On August 4th, 1892 in Fall River, Massachusetts, Andrew Borden, a surly banker and a boomer of a dad was hatcheted to death in the face while napping on the sitting room sofa. Upstairs, his second wife, the much-maligned hot/bad stepmom Abby, is already slumped face-down dead in the guest room having taken seventeen blows to the back of her head. Somewhere in the house Lizzie, the unmarried, spoiled, self-obsessed and limitlessly deserving daughter, was heard ominously laughing. Or at least that’s what Bridget, the really good maid with big eyes who apologizes too much, told police before she fled. Lizzie was acquitted, trial-of-the-century style. Her infamy outlives her. Her enduring mystery is the stuff of legends and nursery rhymes and plays like this one. 

Fall River Fishing is a new Lizzie Borden story all its own, a darkly absurd comedy about what happened that day Lizzie did or didn’t murder her parents. It’s a story about broken Hollywood dreams, unrequited love, self-loathing, generosity, vanity and the mean things that step-moms say. Two brand new female playwrights join forces in this contemporary meditation on/war against a disappointing life. If we’re all made of our missed opportunities, this play is about laughing at how that feels. Also, if you like Ibsen’s A Doll’s House there’s some of that too.  

Part of our NEW WRITING at BEDLAM Fall series.