The Starving Bride

England, the near future. Dumped by her boyfriend, fired from her job and estranged from her parents, Hazel Whitlock signs up for a sideshow act in Blackpool. The seaside resort has revived all the cancelled old favourites: the Wonder Midgets, Britain's Fattest Boy, the South Sea Cannibals . . . and the Starving Bride. On display in the iconic Blackpool Tower, with a ravenous lion prowling the enclosure, Hazel must lie in silence while spectators view her and pass judgement on her body. Time compresses and warps in this strange space, and the past returns to Hazel with full and shocking force. As the days tick down and the Showman entices ever larger crowds through the door, Hazel's old friend Gilda becomes increasingly worried for her welfare. Councillor Frank Marsh, meanwhile, investigating the stability of the Tower, is alarmed at his findings - but his concerns fall on deaf ears.

Set against a backdrop of food shortages, rising sea levels and extreme weather events, The Starving Bride considers our insatiable appetite for the emaciated female form, and the dangers of ignoring the warning signs of catastrophe.