The Tangled Web

Seventeen-year-old Owen is in love with Sarah. Sarah is in love with Sean and his rich lifestyle. Sean used to love Sarah, but now he's moved on. With the help of a mysterious, Faustian source of inspiration, called the Host, Sarah comes up with a plan to secure her future that unwittingly draws everyone into her tangled web of lies. Owen's friend, Tommy, is complicit in Owen's inescapable fate, and Sarah's friend, Julie, must decide between loyalty and telling the truth. The four young characters are portrayed individually and as a chorus who, along with the Host, offer their cryptic and often sarcastic thoughts inside and outside the action. The Tangled Web uses theatrical techniques to investigate issues that surround the consequences of irresponsible sexual activity. It examines peer relationships, influences, and the boundaries of loyalty. How far would you go to obtain your heart's desire? In the special interactive forum that follows, the audience is given the opportunity to further explore the characters' choices and actions. The play was commissioned, devised with and premiered by Graffiti Theatre Company, Cork, Ireland. This American version was commissioned and premiered by The Coterie, Kansas City, Mo., and received a prestigious AT&T FirstStage Award from the Theatre Communications Group.