Strange Kin Theatre bring their new dark comedy Flying Ant Day to Lambeth Fringe.
“Human beings are the only animals capable of contemplating their own mortality. And yet we have lost the practical wisdom of what happens when we die. More importantly, we ignore it.
Flying ants have 24 hours to live, then they die. On a hot summer’s day, the flying ants appear from the ground in an attempt to squeeze as much life as they can out of their time. At the same time, a family arrives at a hospital room to say goodbye to their dying mum.”
Where: Morley College Drama Studio
When: 3 Oct
Ticket link: https://lambethfringe.com/events/flying-ant-day
The team tell us more about the show.
What inspired the creation of Flying Ant Day, and why did the subject of mortality appeal to you?
Flying Ant Day was born out of our MFA (Master of Fine Arts) Acting course at Guildford School of Acting, where we worked with writer Joey Ellis, who extricated ideas and themes from our personal stories and developed them into a play that is at once deeply personal and universally resonant.
During the writing process, Joey experienced the loss of a close friend to suicide, and the play became a way of processing that grief — which gives it an emotional honesty we think audiences really connect with.
Death is something every single person has to face, yet we realised that in this country it is a topic that has become taboo, and something we so often shy away from.
Joey was interested in this communication breakdown within a family unit and wanted to create a piece that showed people have to confront death and loss with unflinching honesty — but also with humour, absurdity, and just a smidge of humanity.
Why should audiences come along to the show, and what might they expect?
Audiences can expect a darkly comic, heartbreaking, and surprisingly joyful exploration of grief.
On one sweltering summer’s day, a dysfunctional, tightly wound family gathers in a hospital room to say goodbye to their mother, while outside the skies swarm with flying ants who have just twenty-four hours to live.
Equal parts raw, absurd, and tender, we have found that it resonates powerfully with people, because it reflects an emotion with which everybody is familiar – grief – and the messy, complicated ways love shows up in the hardest of moments.
Expect laughter, expect tears, and above all, expect to recognise yourself or your own family somewhere in the chaos onstage.
Do you find fringe festivals inspiring?
Absolutely. Fringe festivals are about taking risks, testing new work, and creating connections with audiences in a more direct, unfiltered way.
For us, performing at festivals such as the Sibiu International Theatre Festival in Romania, and now Lambeth Fringe, is not just about presenting our work – it is about discovering how different audiences respond to it.
Fringe audiences are adventurous – they are open to being surprised, challenged, and moved – and that makes festivals an incredibly inspiring place to share Flying Ant Day.
What’s next for the show?
We are currently planning a London run in 2025 ahead of the Edinburgh Fringe.
Our aim is to keep building momentum, growing our audience, and sharing this story with as many people as possible – in London, across the UK and (hopefully!) internationally.
At its core, Flying Ant Day is a play about something every one of us will face, and our hope is that it finds connection with audiences far and wide.