Billy Porter to make London debut as director of THIS BITTER EARTH
Photo credit: Elliott Franks
Grammy Award, Emmy and three-time Tony Award winner Billy Porter will make his UK directorial debut with This Bitter Earth, which receives a major new London production at Soho Theatre from 18 June-26 July.
Written by Harrison David Rivers, This Bitter Earth is an intimate, romantic and gripping play about a young black writer and his white activist lover that asks, “What is the real cost of standing on the sidelines?”
This Bitter Earth will star Omari Douglas (It’s a Sin, Channel 4; Constellations, West End) as Jesse and Alexander Lincoln (In From the Side; Emmerdale, ITV) as Neil.
Stanton Plummer-Cambridge (F**king Men, Waterloo East) and Luke Striffler (Hairspray & Avenue Q, UK tour; Eastenders, BBC) are understudies for Jesse and Neil.
At the Million Hoodie March in 2012, Jesse, a young black man, encounters Neil, a young white man who has unwittingly found himself at the front of the crowd with a megaphone in his hand. Flash forward several weeks, and Jesse and Neil have begun dating. However, as the months pass and Neil works his way further into the world of activism, Jesse never enters it. Over the years, Jesse and Neil negotiate the complex “firsts” of their relationship against a backdrop of political demonstrations and discord. With history unfolding around them every day, Jesse and Neil must contend with the fact that, no matter their response to social turmoil, they cannot remain untouched by it.
Billy Porter said: “Harrison David Rivers has written a searingly poignant and necessary play about love and loss through the lens of the fraying American Democratic experiment. Simple. Complex. Direct and filled with compassion all at once. I’m thrilled to be a part of bringing this very special piece to life.”
This Bitter Earth is award-winning producer Thomas Hopkins’ first development project through his independently owned company, Thomas Hopkins Productions. He said: “This Bitter Earth marks an important step in my new company’s continued growth, as we begin in making our footprint in the West End. This play not only brings together the exceptional playwright Harrison David Rivers with the creative visionary in Billy Porter as our director. But also, a team of passionate artists at the top of the world’s theatrical landscape, to create a production that, the world needs. This Bitter Earth allows us to learn from each other, grow as individuals and heal as one.’’
This Bitter Earth features set and costume design by Morgan Large, original composition by Sean Green, sound by Julian Starr, and casting by Rob Kelly.
