Sobek, the ancient Egyptian god of crocodiles, is two-faced. He was equally revered and feared. Because of his strength and virility, he was associated with the Pharaohs and military might. (The word “sovereign” was symbolized by the hieroglyph for crocodile). But like the Nile Crocodile that he represents, Sobek can be vicious and aggressive. His nature is that of a crocodile’s smile: powerful, inviting, murderous.
Of her play about Sobek, Nicole Jost writes: “The crocodile is an unabashed predator. A hunter, no other animal preys upon it. It eats mostly fish, but will eat almost anything: birds, mammals, sometimes even other crocodiles. But the most alluring and disconcerting thing about the crocodile is that it appears to smile. Look upon the face of a crocodile and there can be no mistaking its ill intent. You are fully aware of the power of its teeth, of its strength, its ability to lie in wait for days, even weeks, in order to consume its target. And yet… aren’t the corners of its mouth curled? Is it smiling at you? Or not? And if it is smiling at you… should that scare you even more?”
SOBEK, or APPETITE by Nicole Jost
Directed by Nicole Meñez
Staged Reading on October 6, 2017 at the EXIT Theatre
Morgan LeClaire (Braid)
Max Maliga (Shift)
Chris Robledo (Osker)
Gabe Sanchez (Beso)
Nicole Jost is a playwright and educator. Her plays have been featured at Rorschach Theatre, The Inkwell, and the Capital Fringe Festival in her hometown of Washington, DC; Gadfly Theatre Productions in Minneapolis; The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival’s regional showcase in Denver; and Breach Once More, ReproRights! Theater, and the SFSU Fringe Festival here in San Francisco. Her short plays have also been published in Fourteen Hills and Transfer Magazine. Nicole is a two-time recipient of the James Milton Highsmith Playwriting Award for queer theater. She is currently pursuing her M.F.A. in Playwriting at San Francisco State. She lives in the Mission with her wife and their 15-pound cat.
The image of Sobek was created by Emily C. Martin.