Headcase - by Douglas Yannaghas (Paperback)

About the Book

Darkly funny and unsettling, Headcase follows a lonely Highland man whose discovery of a mysterious stone head transforms his search for faith and belonging into something increasingly dangerous.

Book Synopsis

Ian is 30, isolated and going nowhere. He still lives with his aunt in the remote village of Rosedale, attending the same dwindling church where he is the youngest member of the congregation.

Then he meets Cassandra, the minister's troubled and charismatic niece. Soon afterwards, in the ruins of the abandoned Tawny House, Ian discovers a mysterious stone head--and hears it speak.

The head offers him purpose, certainty and a new kind of faith. As Cassandra is drawn into his vision, Ian becomes convinced that he has been chosen to establish a new church founded on love, forgiveness and unquestioning devotion.

But belief quickly becomes obsession. Salvation becomes control. And Ian's desire to be heard, loved and followed begins to take a terrifying form.

Darkly funny, unsettling and theatrically inventive, Headcase is a gripping solo play about loneliness, masculinity, religious certainty and the dangerous seduction of absolute belief.

Written for one performer, the play offers rich opportunities for actors, directors and students to explore unreliable narration, fractured chronology, physical storytelling and the shifting boundary between faith, delusion and power.

CAST: 1 actor
DURATION: 60 minutes