'In a spotless kitchen buried deep underground a covert experiment is headed toward its public unveiling. Rachel and Wells are its subjects, and they can almost pass for human now. Although there’s still something not quite right about them…
'And beneath the civilised surfaces, tensions are rising. Wells is growing stronger, Rachel is learning faster than predicted, and Duncan and Marlow’s hold on their subjects – and on power – is proving more fragile and slippery than they thought. As their carefully controlled experiment comes to a head, it twists into a dark psychological battle that threatens to erupt into violence.
'Extinction of the Learned Response is a taut psychological thriller that asks, what really separates human from animal – or from monster?'
Source: 25A.
Awarded the Griffin Award for New Australian Playwriting in 2017, but first produced in 2019.
Presented in association with Glitterbomb as part of 25A, and performed at Belvoir's Downstairs Theatre, 7-25 May 2019.
Director: Carissa Licciardello.