Chickens
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Aim: Help stage “Chickens” – a gripping new dark comedy about relationship, obsession, care and control – at the Edinburgh Fringe 2025.
What is Chickens?
Chickens is a sharp, funny, and painfully relatable two-hander about a relationship on the brink of collapse.
Set in a tiny Edinburgh flat, it follows Jay – a charismatic, obsessive man with a plan (and a coop) – and Weronika – his anxious, pragmatic partner who just wants peace and order. When his dreams of free-range perfection crash into her need for space, eggs aren’t the only thing that start to crack.
Chickens unravels the delicate fabric of love and asks: Can unilateral decisions ever be justified by good intentions and the pursuit of happiness? It explores the fine line between love and control.
From physicist to playwright?
Hi, my name is Monika Klisch.
I’m Polish and I moved to Edinburgh four years ago.
That’s when my long-dormant love for theatre came back to life – mostly because I find Edinburgh such a creative environment. It really triggers something in me. But it was also life circumstances that forced me to reevaluate my priorities. I got hit by COVID three times, and after experiencing massive burnout at work, I quit my IT job to recover.
As a remedy for brain fog, poor memory, and lack of energy, I started taking vocal and acting classes. And after being inspired by a friend, I began writing Chickens...
My former boss used to say:
"You have a PhD in physics – you can do anything!"
I just didn’t realise that “anything” would one day mean writing a play.
And I did write one — but then I put it aside, as life took over: illness, travel between countries, and personal loss, including the sudden death of my father.
Chickens sat quietly for three years. I had completely forgotten about it.
Recently, a friend offered quiet encouragement, some financial support and simply said:
“Let people see Chickens. This year. At the Fringe”
I thought to myself:
"I've been unemployed for seven months. I still have some savings.
Things can’t really get worse...?"
So this year, I find myself not only a writer, but also a first-time producer.
Chickens is now part of the official Edinburgh Fringe programme – and I can’t wait to see it come alive on stage.
Why Chickens Matters to Me
& Why You Should See It
Chickens explores something that feels deeply important to me:
communication — or rather, the lack of it — in close relationships.
Each of us has different needs, different ways of expressing and hearing things. In everyday conversations, we often exchange words like ping-pong balls, without ever getting to the core of what really matters. We speak, but don’t truly listen. And after these so-called dialogues, we often end up feeling even more alone.
That kind of loneliness — the one that happens within a relationship — can be harder than being alone on your own.
The second theme that matters to me is power and control. Who makes the decisions? Where’s the line between care and coercion? Can you make someone happy “for their own good” — even if they didn’t ask for it?
And then there’s obsession and absurdity of daily life — the ways we spiral into strange behaviours under pressure, fear, or love. What triggers us? How far can someone go?
I believe these questions touch something in all of us.
That’s why it feels important to share Chickens on stage.
Everyone who’s read the script has seen something different in it.
And that’s what finally convinced me to share it.
I believe its layers are its strength — and that each person can find something personal in it.
Why I’m Turning to Crowdfunding
Most funding applications were due around the turn of 2024/25 — right when I was recovering from surgery. At that point, I simply didn’t have the capacity to focus on writing funding proposals.
Because I’m doing everything myself — writing, producing, organising — I missed most of the deadlines for public arts funding.
So now I’m turning to you. To ask for your help in raising the money needed to pay fair wages to the incredible creative team bringing Chickens to life.
And if you can’t donate — come and see the show! 🎟️
That would be a huge support too.
Where Your Money Goes
The total cost of bringing Chickens to the stage is £20,000.
Thanks to my savings and the support of generous friends, I’ve already covered a big part of it — including venue hire (for both performances and rehearsals), Fringe registration fees, insurance, artist commuting, materials, and part of the design and tech costs.
What I’m asking for now is £7,200, which will go directly towards paying the creative team fair wages during the rehearsal process.
We’ll be working together for three full weeks, starting in July — so I urgently need to raise funds for the first round of payments this month.
I want to make sure that our director, stage manager, actor, and actress are all paid at least £600 per week, which is the minimum recommended by the Independent Theatre Council (ITC).
Your support will allow me to do this — and to make sure this production is built on respect, care, and collaboration from day one.
Meet the Team
I feel incredibly lucky to work with such a brilliant group of people.
They believed in this story — and in me — even when I wasn’t sure I believed in myself.I still remember sitting on a train on April 4th, reading about Ben Harrison from Grid Iron and hesitating before sending him my script.Is it good enough? Will he even reply?
Four days later, he wrote back:
“I have read the play now,
which I enjoyed very much.”
That one message started it all.
We held auditions in May. And within 10 weeks — we had a full team.
Ben Harrison – Director
Owen Whitelaw – as Jay
Paulina Szarek – as Weronika
From Breakfast Table
to the Fringe Stage
Inspiration:
This is where Chickens 🐓🐓🐓 really comes from
In August 2021, I went on holiday to the Isle of Lewis with a friend.
We stayed in an Airbnb run by a woman who had her own chickens and would wake up at 5 a.m. to bake fresh croissants and make us the most incredible breakfasts I’ve ever had.
She was also an artist – a photographer, published poet – and a deeply inspiring person. Every morning she’d serve us poached eggs with rich, golden yolks from her own hens.
A few months after we got back home, my friend, while eating breakfast, suddenly sighed and said:
“Blimey, those poached eggs at the last bed & breakfast... still the best I've ever had. Maybe we should just go back and steal her chickens.”
We laughed.
But something clicked in my mind.
That absurd little idea — of stealing chickens for love — wouldn’t leave me alone.
And so, a play was born.
Rewards
Enjoy our collection of Chickens poster designs and more!
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 31st July 2025 at 6:18am