Bush Theatre announces two new plays and a writer in residence
Photo credit: Yvette Dzumaga
Performances will re-commence at The Bush Theatre from 17 May in line with government guidance, it has been announced today.
There will be two new Bush commissions to lead the proceedings: Harm by Bruntwood Prize award-winning playwright Phoebe Éclair-Powell and Lava, the debut play by Benedict Lombe. They have also announced that its new writer in residence will be Vinay Patel, who has previously worked on BBC’s Doctor Who.
Harm’will begin on 17 May and run until 26 June. It tells the story of the corrosive effect of social media and isolation in a thrilling and twisted comedy, where reality becomes dangerously blurred.
Lava will follow, being presented from 9 July to 7 August. The show will also be broadcast online from 9-21 August. Lava tells the story of a woman who is confronted with her past and goes on a journey of discovery when her South African passport doesn’t show her first name. Lava is set to the soundtrack of your favourite 90’s TV shows as she goes on a journey of self-discovery.
Casts for the shows will be announced shortly and tickets will be available here from 19 April, unless eligible for priority booking.
Following the news of these shows, The Bush Theatre has also announced that its second writer in-residence will be Vinay Patel, who will follow Trish Cooke’s inaugural residency and support the Bush Theatre’s literacy and programming teams. During his residency, he will write a full-length play and mentor emerging artists.
Named as BAFTA Breakthrough Brit for his work Murdered By My Father, Patel has since written for Paines Plough, ITV, Channel 4 and the BFI. He began his relationship with The Bush Theatre with his debut play True Brits, which transferred from the Edinburgh Film Festival this was followed by critically acclaimed An Adventure.
Patel said: “The Bush is my home. It encouraged my early aspirations and backed me to reach them on my own terms. So I’m thrilled to join the theatre as it reopens and support it in being a place of honesty, ambition, and joy in an uncertain world.”