Vegan Thanksgiving Radio Play Premieres

The world premiere of Sanctuary—a vegan radio play by John Yunker—will air today on the Our Hen House podcast. The dark comedy was recorded live at last month’s Compassion Arts and Culture and Animals Festival held at NYC’s prestigious Symphony Space. Sanctuary casts a light on the very fraught family dynamics that can arise when celebrating one’s first Thanksgiving as a vegan. Richard and Lisa’s marriage starts to unravel when Lisa not only suddenly decides to go vegan, but, under the spell of her new and enticing animal-activist friend Meg, announces to Richard that they will be celebrating Thanksgiving sans turkey. The resulting tensions soon push relationships over the edge. “None of the characters are heroes and none are villains,” says Our Hen House co-founder—and adjunct professor of Animal Law at Columbia University—Mariann Sullivan, who plays Lisa. “These are just ordinary people struggling with what happens when they become aware of what is happening to animals and have to do something about it.” Live sound effects were provided by Emmy-award nominated sound designer Eric Milano, with pre-recorded sound effects by performing artist Michael Harren. In addition to Sullivan, Harren, and Milano, the episode’s cast features actor John Frusciante (who also directed) and Jasmin Singer (also VegNews’ Senior Editor).