Timberlake Wertenbaker, Travis Alabanza and Amy Trigg join BURN IT DOWN at Stratford East
Theatre Royal Stratford East has announced its writer and director line up for BURN IT DOWN which is a series of six script-in-hand performances about urgent political issues.
Each play will call out injustice and interrogate the systems that wield power, and will be shown across the course of April and May at 7pm and 8.30pm for each play.
Timberlake Wertenbaker explores the human life, how valuable it is and who determines it and how we define it in The Expendables, directed by Anthony Lau, playing on 19 April.
Yummy by Babirye Bukilwa is directed by Malakaï Sargeant and examines the relationship between diet culture, fatphobia, anti-Blackness, self-harm, class and misogyny, showing on 21 April.
Lettie Precious has written a piece about HOST, a passionate creative who wants to change the world. What HOST must decide is what is more important to them being British and being censored or risking deportation by speaking their truth and changing the world. If I Speak is directed by Leian John-Baptist and will be staged on 26 April.
On 28 April, audiences can see Jamie Hale’s offering I Want to Live, directed by Lilac Yosiphon. As a disabled health journalist, Sam has a difficult decision to face as the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps the nation, can he both have his life and live?
Amy Trigg has written an angry comedy in It’s Not Like It’s Illegal. When a group of sixth formers risk expulsion from boarding school for throwing a party, when Snapchat videos emerge of students necking booze suspicions start to emerge within the group as to who the whistleblower is. Directed by Jane Moriarty, It’s Not Like It’s Illegal can be seen on 3 May.
The final play will be staged on 5 May and is written by Travis Alabanza and directed by Milli Bhatia. Titled I’m tired of waiting, someone pass me the duct tape, it is about two trans girls who are tired of being the ones kept waiting so decide to take back control in a funny, theatrical look into doctors and the medical system and what it takes to medically transition in the UK.
Talking about BURN IT DOWN, Nadia Fall, Artistic Director of Theatre Royal Stratford East, said: "The old have been let down, the young aren’t falling for it and everyone else can’t deny it, things aren’t right, tipping points are being reached. There is a restlessness, a vibration, a need to call it out and protest - yes, but actually it’s more than that, it feels like people are revving up to bring about some real change and we’re here for that, we’re inspired by it!"
For more information and to book tickets, please click here.