Themes: integration, complicity, privilege, greater good, bullying (victim), love
Sterling was lucky for a slum kid: they got a chance at an education, allowing them to get out and even start up their own workshop as a subcontractor. They were never all that good at actually talking to people, preferring machines and numbers - the insides of what makes things tick. They have always wanted to be a part of a community, to be respected and loved - so they decided to give back to the community by providing a decent workplace where people from the slums could earn fair wages.
The idea looked great on paper and worked for a time. But now, the whole thing is balancing on the verge of collapse. The contracting companies have been putting pressure on the prices, costs have been growing, workers are louder and louder, and the payments to the local union branch are getting a bit late. Recently, Sterling tried to right the ship by installing their child, Ardor, into the position of the manager, but that has only brought the fighting close to home, as Ardor’s cutthroat, pragmatic management style often clashes with Sterling’s social sensitivities and non-confrontational nature. Things are shaking.
Everybody who lives in La Cage is mostly poor and desperate. The families and professionals living in Apartment Blocks are the ones who really try to keep some semblance of normality in their lives. The Block B consists mostly of tradesmen and people of other desirable professions. People with no exceptional wealth or status, but the ones who are good and honest at their job and are beneficial to the La Cage. Educated, but not burgeois - teacher, nurse, students, social worker or people jilted from Block A. They mostly want to stay far from the troubles and extreme ideologies (to a small degree of success) but are willing to help each other as much as they can - like a big family.
An honorable, traditional artistic collective in La Cage, the Theatrical Taxidermy Society has been stuffing animals and delivering pithy social commentary for a long time. Some find the collections of birds with little hats and cloaks or Comrade Meerkat with their little lantern of progress a strange thing to find in the alcoves on their way to work, but the denizens of La Cage are now used to the sight. They know which windowsill to look on if they want some gossip told through stuffed mice. They marvel at the battles of old illustrated by the mangled taxidermy parrots. And they all turn up for the annual Great Taxidermy Expo, which always delivers a nuanced portrayal of the current affairs plaguing the neighbourhood in their main play - and a brand new specimen to boot!
A long time ago, The Second Club was a group of youngsters, held together through thin and thick with the help of The Mentor, who was always ready to wave away the latest problem they got into and did their best to steer them on the right path. After some harsh words and hurtful deeds, the group fell apart one fateful night. Some left, some just refused to talk to each other ever again. Now after countless years, they finally meet again, at the reading of the last will of The Mentor. But there are still some unresolved memories and even unfulfilled dreams. Will the past be enough to repair their future?
