Actress and writer Bebe Cave (Victoria, ITV; Tale of Tales, Matteo Garrone; Great Expectations, Lionsgate) has been cast in Lewis Cornay’s one-hander Daddy Issues, which will premiere at Seven Dials Playhouse this October.
Cave’s past stage work includes The Audience at The Gielgud Theatre in 2013 opposite Helen Mirren. The Daily Telegraph described Cave as a revelation, praising her performance of blistering pathos and real comic punch. Her recent television work leans into this comedic vein, with roles in Stephen Mangan’s Hang Ups (Channel 4) and This Time with Alan Partridge (BBC One). Her writing credits include comedy shows with her sister Jessie Cave, who she performed with at Edinburgh Festival Fringe with shows Bookworm and Cave Sisters, which they took to the Soho Theatre.
Daddy Issues is written by Soho Writer and Offie Award-winner Lewis Cornay. This startling dark comedy centres around 23-year-old Imi. Isolated, and grappling with the aftermath of a suicide, the play focuses on the unexpected ways grief can present itself. Seeking connection after losing her anchor, Imi finds herself slipping further and further from reality, trapped inside her mind as she tries to explain the complexities of grief, Cliff Richard and dead dogs. Imi finds herself stuck between spaces and yearns for the past whilst trying to move forward, allowing the audience to consider what we inherit from our family, and what pieces of trauma are passed on when they leave us behind.
One-woman show Daddy Issues, produced by Liam Gartland for Gartland Productions, interrogates the lengths we’ll go to forget the things that haunt us. Hollowed out by loss, Imi is desperately trying to satiate this gap with anything that will numb reality. As she spirals, she has to fight to remember all the reasons why she must choose to live.
Writer Lewis Cornay comments, I’m ridiculously excited to have my first play staged at Seven Dials Playhouse this Autumn. In 2020, Liam and I spoke about creating a piece of theatre that raised suicide awareness, whilst also giving audiences a sense of catharsis. I was introduced to a whole community of those who’ve experienced loss and was massively inspired by the generosity and good humour they had in sharing their stories. These conversations can be messy and uncomfortable, but within that grey area is where the richest stories can be found. Audiences should throw away any preconceived ideas on the grieving process and allow themselves to fall in love with the complexities of humanity.
