Black Roses to return to Royal Exchange

Published: 9 August 2013
Reporter: David Upton

Black Roses

Manchester Royal Exchange’s acclaimed production of Black Roses: The Killing Of Sophie Lancaster—starring Coronation Street’s Julie Hesmondhalgh—is to return in 2014.

A sell-out success when it premièred last year, audiences will have a second chance to see this moving response to the tragic death of the young gap-year student when it comes back to The Studio from February 26 to March 8.

Written as an elegy to Sophie by poet Simon Armitage—alongside the words of Sophie’s mother Sylvia Lancaster—the play was brought to the stage for the first time in September 2012 and played to packed houses throughout its run.

The production features the original cast which includes Rachel Austin as Sophie and Julie Hesmondhalgh (best known as Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street) as Sylvia. It won two Manchester Theatre Awards—Best Studio Production and Best Performance in a Studio Production for Julie Hesmondhalgh.

The play tells the story of Sophie Lancaster who was beaten unconscious in Bacup in August 2007 and later died from her injuries in hospital. She was 20, had just passed her A-levels and was killed because she was dressed differently.

Details: www.sophielancasterfoundation.com

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