Anish Roy and Tiffany Clare star in Poison, Hate and Vitriol by Amy Guyler which will play at VAULT Festival 28th February to 5th March. Anish is best known for starring in ‘Brown Boys Swim’, winner of the 2022 BBC Popcorn Playwriting Award, as well performing in ‘The Father and The Assassin’ at The National Theatre. Tiffany has previously appeared in ‘Ann Bonny and Mary Read’ at the Queens Theatre Hornchurch and voices lead character Clara in ‘Spark Up’, a new stop motion film, due to be released this year.
When ‘SHARON’ is created by left wing journalist Jaz, his wife Kelly is swept along for the ride. A fake online persona modeled on the Katie Hopkins and Andrew Tates of the world, ‘SHARON’ was made to rile up hatred – and it’s Kelly, a former journalist herself, who is forced into the starring role. But as the experiment begins to go too far, the cracks will begin to show in this comfortable marriage…
As Trump, his hate speech, and the insurrection he inspired fade into the recesses of history, our news feeds are still dominated by controversy-stirrers. Piers Morgan attacks Meghan Markle again. Andrew Tate faces justice (but not for the generation of schoolboys he inspired). Controversial opinion pieces provoke debate, but sell papers. Extreme views are still big business. Whether or not the people giving them actually believe them…
Ostensibly about a couple who want a piece of the controversy pie – this play is actually about sacrifice, gender roles, and the weight of expectation. And as the pair grapple with ‘Sharon’ (the character they’ve created) and her rise to fame – it’s about the ‘poison, hate and vitriol’ that has infiltrated their once happy marriage.
Writer Amy Guyler said, ”I’m so excited to see this play brought to life, having written it a pandemic ago on the Soho Theatre Writers Lab. Back then, it felt relevant – but right now, it feels crucial. Vikesh has so much incredible experience in bringing issue-based theatre to life, and the show looks sure to be explosive….”
Director Vikesh Godhwani said, “Amy Guyler never shies away from the most uncomfortable facets of our contemporary experiences and Poison, Hate & Vitriol is perhaps her most confronting work to date. As always the discomfort is accompanied by wit, style and playfulness. I am so excited to once again be entrusted with one of her plays, and to be back at the Vaults where our collaboration began is the cherry on top of the cake.”
VAULT Festival 2023 runs Tuesday 24th January to Sunday 19th March, full listings and ticket information can be found here.
