Wendy is downtrodden. She is one of the outcasts, the underclass, the
meek and the bleakly prospected. She didn't stand a chance of succeeding.
Washed up and heartbroken, the highlight of her existence is her daily
shuffle to the chicken shop.
On one particularly hard day she re-encounters her old friend Dennis, whom
she hasn't seen since a tragedy occurred when she was ten - twenty-five
years previously. Newly returned to Penge, and now a chicken shop boss,
Dennis promises to change her existence forever. But will Wendy have the
courage to follow him? And what are the consequences of letting the god of
madness, ecstasy, and wildness loose in SE20?
Touching on themes of addiction, survival, poverty, joy and ecstasy in the city, and a homage to her childhood ends of SE20, Dennis of Penge, loosely based on Euripides' The Bacchae, combines Annie Siddons' raw poetry with music and performance to create an urgent, vital and uplifting new show.

Annie Siddons (she/her) is a writer, performer and dramaturg from South-East London. After a misspent youth, Annie wrote Rapunzel in 2005 for her then very young daughters. Rapunzel was first performed by Cornish legends Kneehigh Theatre, directed by Emma Rice, opening at BAC in December 2006, then touring 2006-8, including playing Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2007 and the New Victory Theatre, New York, in 2008. Subsequent remounts have included Creation Theatre, (2010)The Citz',(2015) the Egg, Bath, (2019) and the Watermill in 2022.

Annie's shows as writer/performer are Raymondo (2014-2015), How(not) to Live in Suburbia (2016-18) both dir. Justin Audibert and Dennis of Penge (2018 dir Laura Keefe) (2022 remount dir. Emma Baggott for Guildhall), all published by Bloomsbury.

Other writing includes The Passion of Jesus Christ (BOV, 2005) Nutcracker and Mouse King (Unicorn, 2014, dir. Ellen Macdougall), Babylon Beyond Borders (Bush Theatre, 2019 dir. Ruthie Osterman) Ant and Hop (Unicorn, 2019, part of the Aesop's Fables season, dir. Rachel Bagshaw) The Tower (audio, 2020, dir. Kate Chapman). Signs from the Divine (Living Newspaper 4, Royal Court, 2021). She's currently working on solo and collaborative projects across TV, theatre, and prose. anniesiddons.co.uk