Birthday Play

Birthday Play follows an unnamed protagonist through a dream-like metropolis on his 22nd birthday. For everyone he meets, his birthday is important, a reason to celebrate, but he himself takes issue with the seemingly arbitrary ritual of the birthday celebration. He’s not sure what his issue is exactly, just that it feels unnecessary. His closest friend grapples with how to celebrate someone whose only wish is not to be celebrated. The strangers he encounters suddenly feel familiar. The city that felt so familiar this morning now seems out of place and illogical. As his seemingly stereotypical city begins to reveal its emotionally uncanny underbelly, the unnamed protagonist wonders whether it is possible to grow up without growing old.