Lydia's House, a new play by leading North East actors' agent Janet Plater, whose father was the acclaimed playwright Alan Plater, will première and then embark on a short tour this month.
The play follows the stories of five women who are offered a second chance working together in The Doll’s House Project, but they end up restoring a lot more than just the doll’s house.
The project is just one part of the pioneering community learning project in Sunderland that aims to give to women who are socially and economically excluded the opportunity to learn, train and gain employment. These women have faced a host of different problems—unemployment, alcoholism, depression, abuse or drug addiction—but by starting to build a dolls house together they are also starting to rebuild their lives.
The story of these women’s journeys has been brought to life by writer Janet Plater, and follows on from the success of last years production of Gaslight on Grey Street. The show is produced by Washington-based actress and theatre maker Christina Berriman Dawson.
"I was incredibly moved by the life stories of some of these women," Dawson said, "and both Janet and I felt we had not seen women from this community represented on stage. Having grown up in single parent family in Washington myself, I felt a real connection with the project and the women who attend it."
The cast of north east actors is Bev Fox, Viktoria Kay, Christina Berriman Dawson, Natalie Ann Jamieson and Elizabeth Edmonds. The play is directed by Laura Lindow.
Lydia’s House opens at Arts Centre Washington on Thursday 19 June, then moves to The Canny Space, Sunderland, on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 June and closes at The Customs House, South Shields, on Thursday 26 June.