EPIC Players, New York’s leading neuroinclusive theater company, presents the world premiere of BUM BUM (or, this farce has Autism); a sharp-witted, genre-bending comedy by award-winning Autistic playwright Dave Osmundsen.
Set during a chaotic live telethon benefiting “Singing and Hearing Autistic Greatness” (aka SHAG or SAHAG), the play follows three Autistic performers as they’re pressured to deliver sanitized, “palatable” routines for a mainstream audience. Lisa is going to perform a little ballet. Sean is going to do a family-friendly comedy routine. And Jason is going to perform with his trusty ventriloquist dummy, Gil McGillicuddy. But the three can only take condescending press reps, problematic pop stars and the wide-scale infantilization of Autistic people for so long. When they band together to take over the broadcast and perform their less “appropriate” routines, hijinks (naturally) ensue.
Blending farce, satire and social critique, BUM BUM is a radical, hilarious takedown of how media and society package neurodivergence for mass consumption. EPIC’s neurodivergent cast brings authenticity and bite to this bold new work, continuing the company’s mission to challenge stereotypes, increase representation and center Disabled artists as creative leaders. And, in a perfectly meta turn, EPIC holds a mirror to the industry and joyfully dismantles the very tropes they’ve spent years replacing.
Farce meets authenticity in this wild, subversive and deeply personal satire of performance, representation and what society really wants from its “inspirational” Disabled artists.
