Day of The Locust at Pleasance Courtyard, Attic

Day of The Locust is a solo performance with live music, written by Callum Patrick Hughes and David Shopland and directed by David Shopland and Roann Hassani McCloskey. Drawing parallels between 2025's anti-ICE protests in LA and the dark reality of Hollywood's Golden Age as depicted in Nathanael West's novel, multi-instrumentalist and storyteller Callum Patrick Hughes examines the destructive nature of the Hollywood dream through the lens of modern political unrest. Told in second person narrative, the show follows a young scenic designer through the seedy underbelly of the film industry, where pressure to succeed and feelings of exclusion push aspiring artists to breaking point, culminating in a mob riot at a movie premiere. The production features a live onstage soundscape using guitars, loop pedals, and guitar drones, and critiques the false promises of both the entertainment industry and the American Dream.