Award winning singer songwriter, actor and playwright Anoushka Lucas has released Who Are You To Judge, signalling a powerful new phase in her musical career.
Lucas, noted for her Olivier Award nominated performance in Oklahoma! and her acclaimed debut play Elephant, turns her attention back to songwriting with a track that is both raw and defiant.
Written by Lucas and produced by Chris Hyson, Who Are You To Judge examines what it means to be publicly judged for feelings or behaviours that feel instinctive. Lucas says: “It’s a battle cry for anyone who feels misunderstood or disliked for experiencing life in the way that they do, and anyone who is learning to be comfortable with not fitting in.”
The official video, co directed by Hannah Samuel Ogbu and Karisma Drage, will premiere on Friday 6 March on YouTube.
Speaking about the video’s themes, Lucas says: “The video explores what it feels like to be defined by a label that doesn’t capture your full humanity. I’ve found conforming exhausting at times, and this story is about letting go of that and allowing space for complexity and joy. When we stop judging ourselves, we become freer.”
Lucas will debut new material later this month in a special double header performance at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club. The shows, curated and hosted by Martha D Lewis, introduce the new Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Plus series spotlighting contemporary jazz storytellers.
Reflecting on her return to the venue, Lucas said: “I feel completely overwhelmed to have sold out the new Upstairs at Ronnie Scott’s. It’s a venue I spent many nights playing at in my early twenties, struggling to get people to come and see me, so to bring a whole new batch of songs to such a prestigious space, and to get to do it in the first six months after its refurbishment, is a dream come true.”
These performances will offer the first full live preview of her forthcoming body of work, including a special onstage collaboration with her younger sister, Louella Lucas.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
