Kiss Marry Kill

I'm a monster. You can't marry me.

Jay and Paul are both serving life sentences for homophobic murders. Incredibly, they fall in love and seek permission to marry. Inspired by real-life events, Kiss Marry Kill is a provocative new play that reimagines the first same-sex wedding in a UK prison.

The original Dante or Die production featured live music from rapper Lady Lykez, and enveloped audiences in the private spaces and conversations of a world rarely seen.

Kiss Marry Kill zeroes in on the limits of our compassion, challenging our assumptions and preconceptions around sexuality, and the criminal justice system.

This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere Dante or Die tour starting in March 2024.


About the Author

Daphna Attias is Co-Artistic Director of Dante or Die Theatre. She has directed all of the company's work to date. She is also Artistic Director of Peut-Être Theatre, where she creates unforgettable early theatrical experiences. Her work has been presented and performed nationally and internationally at venues such as Almeida Theatre, Roundhouse, Royal Albert Hall, Brighton Festival, Southbank Centre, The Place, Royal Opera House, The Lowry, Barnsley Civic, The Arc Stockton, The Egg Bath, Polka Theare, National Theatre's Watch This Space, Drama Centre Singapore, Ziguzajg Festival Malta, Israel Festival for Children in Israel.

James Baldwin is a writer and theatre maker. Credits include: Wendy: a Peter Pan Story, Afraid to Ask, Innocentville (the egg, Theatre Royal Bath), ...if we've never been to the Moon?, Return of the Unknown, Lemn Sissay's Warrior Poets (The Marlowe), Match Fit (the Old Vic), Meet the Meat (Barbican) and Doctors (BBC Drama shadow scheme). James is Artistic Director of Toucan Theatre; productions include The Naughty Fox and Getting There (with deafinitely theatre and Oxford Playhouse). Awards include: The Walter Tull Playwriting Prize, The Lilian Baylis Award for Theatrical Excellence and multiple Koestler Awards for radio dramas created in prisons. James is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a trustee of the Old Fire Station, Oxford. James' play Peter Panic was published by Oberon, now Bloomsbury Publishing.

Terry O'Donovan has worked as an actor, director and producer since 2005. As Co-Artistic Director of Dante or Die he has co-created all productions and performed in most. He specialises in creating intimate and immersive performances. Terry and Co-Artistic Director & Joint CEO Daphna Attias have worked in in partnership with University of Reading for over ten years, including developing research projects in conjunction with Dante or Die productions. They have collaborated with academics & specialists from London School of Pharmacy and Imperical College London and worked as guest lecturers at a variety of universities such as Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, Roehampton University & University of Salford.