Source: Press Release from Larking House

Santa Ana, CA — A darkly comic and unsettling new work takes the stage this winter as BUG IN MOUTH DISEASE, a world premiere play by Fiona Gorry-Hines, runs January 30 through February 8 at the Grand
Central Art Center in Santa Ana. Performances take place Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM, with matinees Saturdays and Sundays at 3:00 PM.

Produced by The Larking House in partnership with the Cal State Fullerton Department of Theatre and Dance, BUG IN MOUTH DISEASE brings together six estranged siblings for the first time in years. Their goal is straightforward: plan an intervention for their parents. Their mother has been ensnared by a pyramid scheme, and their father has relapsed into a dangerous gambling addiction. Getting everyone in the same room already feels miraculous—but the meeting quickly derails.

As tensions rise, three of the siblings confess to a bizarre and terrifying symptom: bugs have been inexplicably emerging from their mouths for weeks. Soon, two more siblings begin showing signs of the same condition. What begins as a practical family discussion spirals into an unflinching excavation of shared and individual trauma, long-simmering resentments, wild theories, and the occasional flicker of tenderness and nostalgia.

Both visceral and darkly funny, BUG IN MOUTH DISEASE explores inheritance, responsibility, and the ways families carry—and transmit—damage. As the siblings confront the mysterious illness, one thing becomes painfully clear: they will have to rely on one another to survive it, and somehow, it is probably their parents’ fault.

Performance Details
📍 Grand Central Art Center, Santa Ana
🗓 January 30 – February 8
⏰ Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00 PM
⏰ Saturdays & Sundays at 3:00 PM
Tickets
🎟 $25 General Admission
🌐 Tickets available at: www.thelarkinghouse.com