Billy Porter will make his London directorial debut with This Bitter Earth by Harrison David Rivers at the Soho Theatre from June 18 to July 26, 2025. Tickets go on sale from March 18 at thisbitterearthplay.com.
This Bitter Earth is an intimate, romantic, and gripping play about a young black writer and his white activist lover that asks, “What is the real cost of standing on the sidelines?” The production stars Omari Douglas (Channel 4’s It’s a Sin, Constellations in the West End, Cabaret at the KitKat Club) as Jesse and Alexander Lincoln (In From the Side, Emmerdale, Everything I Know About Love) as Neil.
Understudies for Jesse and Neil are Stanton Plummer-Cambridge (F**king Men, Waterloo East, The Durrells, Black Earth Rising) and Luke Striffler (UK tours of Hairspray & Avenue Q, Eastenders).
The play follows Jesse, a young black man, who meets Neil, a young white man, at the Million Hoodie March in 2012. As their relationship develops, they navigate the complexities of their love against a backdrop of political demonstrations and discord.
Billy Porter said: “Harrison David Rivers has written a searingly poignant and necessary play about love and loss through the lens of the fraying American Democratic experiment. Simple. Complex. Direct and filled with compassion all at once. I’m thrilled to be a part of bringing this very special piece to life.”
This Bitter Earth is award-winning producer Thomas Hopkins’ first development project through his independently owned company, Thomas Hopkins Productions. Hopkins said: “This Bitter Earth marks an important step in my new company’s continued growth, as we begin in making our footprint in the West End. This play not only brings together the exceptional playwright Harrison David Rivers with the creative visionary in Billy Porter as our director. But also, a team of passionate artists at the top of the world’s theatrical landscape, to create a production that, the world needs. This Bitter Earth allows us to learn from each other, grow as individuals and heal as one.”
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
