The new season at London's Bush Theatre opens on the 28th of this month.
Two new commissions feature in the programme: Perseverance Drive by playwright and actor Robin Soans, whose play Talking To Terrorists was nominated for Best Play at the TMA Awards, and Chris Thompson's Albion. Thompson's professional writing debut work Carthage is currently playing at the Finborough Theatre.
The season opens though with with We Are Proud To Present A Presentation About The Herero Of Namibia, Formerly Known As Southwest Africa, From The German Sudwestafrika, Between The Years 1884 - 1915. This work, by US writer Jackie Sibblies Drury, tells the story of the first genocide of the 20th Century; it will be directed by Gbolahan Obisesan whose Fringe First award-winning play Mad About the Boy had a sell out run at the venue in 2011.
The new play by Nick Payne (whose credits most famously include Constellations) transfers to the Bush in May. Incognito, which explores the nature of identity, premières at Hightide Festival Theatre and after playing The Bush moves on to Live Theatre Newcastle and The North Wall. Joe Murphy directs.
Bush artistic director Madani Younis said, "I’m particularly excited to announce our season for 2014 as we introduce new plays by Chris Thompson and Robin Soans to our programme, both new commissions under my tenure. It’s wonderful to invite these two voices to our stage—Robin with his wealth of experience, and Chris at the start of his journey.
“These world premières are complemented by our new production of an extraordinary play from the US—Jackie Sibblies Drury’s We Are Proud to Present…, which we are thrilled to bring to British audiences, following the success of Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced last year.
“These contemporary voices bring a potent diversity to our season, reflecting the society on our doorstep and beyond. They not only entertain, but provoke an important debate about the part we each play in our communities. They speak to, and for, London today.”
RADAR, the venue's new writing festival, returns in November for it's third year.
- We Are Proud To Present ... - 28 February to 12 April
- Incognito - 14 May to 21 June
- Perseverance Drive - 4 July to 16 August
- Albion - 12 September to 25 October
Audio Described and captioned performance are scheduled.