Every dream has a price.

T is the new summer hire at Cafarelli & Sons, an iconic New York butcher, but life in a messy cutting room isn’t glamorous. Mithra Malek (Romeo + Juliet, Hamlet, Anatomy of a Scandal) plays the newcomer, quickly discovering that no-nonsense boss Paula — Jackie Clune (Motherland, Donmar Shakespeare Trilogy, Billy Elliot: the Musical) — is fighting to hold a struggling business together. When the season ends, someone’s for the chop. 

With the American Dream of a better life hanging in the balance, JD (Marcello Cruz, Sweat, Much Ado About Nothing, Alex Rider) and Billy (Ash Hunter, Hamilton, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bridgerton) find themselves pitted against each other, each determined to secure a future. Around them, David (Eugene McCoy, Girl From the North Country, Groundhog Day, Paddington 2) and T are drawn into shifting alliances and fractured loyalties. But how far will they go to survive? 

The Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights carves into the dark underbelly of America’s anti-immigration policies and the brutal sacrifices that drive the pursuit of prosperity. Winner of the 2024 Papatango New Writing Prize from a record-breaking 1,589 submissions, Hannah Doran’s searing debut play is directed by Papatango’s Artistic Director, George Turvey (Shook, National Tour & Sky Arts), following previous Prize discoveries that have won Olivier, Critics’ Circle and OffWestEnd awards and remounts in 33 countries. ‘Every year the Papatango Prize comes up with a bit of a cracker.’ The Guardian

 

 

Post Show Events

 Sat 1 Nov –  Post Show Q&A 

Catch the 2024 Papatango Prize-winning play by Hannah Doran, followed by an exclusive post-show Q&A with Hannah, director George Turvey and other creatives. 

Wed 19 Nov – Post Show Discussion

AMERICA: WHO BELONGS?

Join Brad Blitz (Professor of International Politics and Policy, UCL), Fionna Smyth (Director of Campaigns, Policy and Programmes, War on Want) and Hannah Doran, Papatango Prize-winning writer of The Meat Kings!… for a thought-provoking discussion inspired by the play.

The panel will unpack the urgent and polarised debate around immigration, asking how it shapes the way we live, work, and define ourselves as a society. If every dream has a price, who pays it?

 

Papatango Theatre Company and Park Theatre present the World Premiere of the 2024 Papatango New Writing Prize Winner. 

 

  • Evenings

    19:30

    Thu & Sat

    15:00

  • Duration

    TBC

  • Tickets

    £15 - £49.50

  • Genre

    Drama

  • Age guidance

    12+

  • Content warnings

    This production contains butchery, cutting of meat, references to prison and strong language.