Fever Syndrome
'We are all slaves to our genes. Worse than that; we are all slaves to our parents' genes.'
Dr Richard Myers, the great IVF innovator, is virtually a secular saint because of the thousands of babies he has created throughout his career. Now, his family have gathered at his home on Manhattan's Upper West Side to see him receive a lifetime achievement award.
It's not long before this fractious group, more accustomed to debate than empathy, fall into dispute once again: over conflicting Thanksgiving memories, polarised opinions on investment banking, and how best to care for their ailing father. And crucially, who will inherit Richard's wealth and his prestigious science institution?
A vivid and thrilling portrait of a brilliantly dysfunctional family, Alexis Zegerman's The Fever Syndrome was first produced at Hampstead Theatre, London, in March 2022, directed by Roxana Silbert.
Alexis Zegerman is an actor, playwright and screenwriter, and was Pearson Writer-in-Residence at Hampstead Theatre, where her play Lucky Seven premiered. Her other plays include The Steingolds, which was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and Holy Sh!t, which was the first production at the renovated Kiln Theatre.