Bug

Kitchen Dog Theater, Dallas

About the Show

Bug, by Tracy Letts, explores fear and paranoia in a sci-fi age of high-tech surveillance, identity theft, and the ultimate in governmental intrusive power.

Set in a seedy Oklahoma City motel room, the play centers on the meeting between Agnes, a divorced waitress with a fondness for cocaine and isolation, and Peter, a soft-spoken Gulf War drifter introduced to her by her lesbian friend, R.C. Agnes turned to alcohol and drugs to forget her past – a marriage that was lost and a child that she feels was stolen from her. But now she’s learned her abusive ex-husband Jerry has just been released from prison, and Agnes sees her life spinning out of control. Then she meets Peter Evans. At first, she lets Peter sleep platonically on her floor, but not long after she promotes him to the bed. Matters become more complicated as Jerry eagerly returns to the woman he loves to beat her up, expecting to resume their relationship. On top of that, there’s a hidden bug infestation problem that has both Agnes and Peter dealing with scathing welts and festering sores–which has Peter believing this is the result of experiments conducted on him during his stay at an army hospital. Agnes becomes caught up in Peter’s hallucinatory tale of pests and paranoia. Through their emotional tumult, an unconventional relationship develops and in a series of sometime humorous, sometime horrible events, Peter reignites Agnes’ lust for life. But will he eventually infect her with his obsessions?

Additional performances: Wed @ 8pm (9/21 & 10/5) & Sun @ 2pm (9/18 & 10/2)