Last year, Billie Piper grabbed our attention with her TV series I Hate Suzie. 

The show, which Piper wrote with long-time collaborator Lucy Prebble, told the darkly funny story of an actor whose life is turned upside down when nude photos of her are leaked. It was a sharp and original examination of the bad decisions women in their 30s often make thanks to prevalent anxieties and pressures. 

Anyone who enjoyed the highs and lows of the series will be very interested in Piper’s latest project, which takes a similarly twisted look at what it means to be a woman navigating life in this modern world. 

Rare Beasts is Piper’s directing debut, and it looks wild. 

The film, which Piper also wrote and stars in, received its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2019. It was also selected for the festival’s ‘film critics’ week sidebar, and was described by the event’s general delegate Giona Nazzaro as “a completely unhinged comedy.”

Piper plays Mandy, a struggling mum from a dysfunctional family, who is writing about “a love that no longer exists”. She falls upon troubled man Pete (Leo Bill) who “seeks traditional dynamics and a sense of worth in this current female movement”.

The cast also includes incredible British actors: Lily James (Mamma Mia, Downton Abbey) and David Thewlis (Harry Potter). 

Watch the trailer for Billie Piper’s Rare Beasts

The trailer for Rare Beasts has just been released and we’re already gripped. It shows how Mandy lives with severe anxiety that makes her question her self-worth, take drugs and drink a lot of alcohol. 

“Money, cock, promotion,” she keeps repeating to herself. When she meets Pete, he looks like the absolute worst, so it will be interesting to see exactly why Mandy continues a relationship with him. 

“I want a man!” she shouts to a group of annoyed women near the end. It suggests that the real question being asked here is: what does wanting a relationship really mean in today’s world?

Can’t wait to check it out? Us neither. And we don’t have too long to wait at all. 

Rare Beasts will be available to watch on select digital platforms from 7 May 2021. Depending on what lockdown restrictions will be like on this date, it might also be distributed at cinemas.

In the meantime, you can get in the mood by catching up with I Hate Suzie on Now TV.

Images: Republic Film Distribution