The Bush Theatre has today announced that due to demand, the world premiere of the Mustapha Matura Award-winning play Dreaming and Drowning will now run until 5 January 2024. An intimate and visceral deep-dive into the boundless mind of a young Black queer man wrestling with anxiety, Dreaming and Drowning is written and directed by Kwame Owusu (HORIZON), performed by Tienne Simon (Grime Kids, BBC) and produced by WoLab (For a Palestinian).
“I had that dream again. Drowning and gasping but I’m trying not to think about it.”
Malachi’s been looking forward to a fresh start at uni for months. He’s settling in, he’s got a stack of books to read, and he’s met someone new – Kojo, a musician with a megawatt smile, who’s basically perfect.
But something doesn’t feel right. He keeps having the same nightmare – sinking, crushed by the weight of the ocean – and it’s getting worse… A beast grows in the water, hungry, relentless, hunting him but always just out of sight. As the boundaries between nightmare and reality fracture, Malachi must fight harder than ever to stay afloat.
Production Producer Sarah Allen said, ‘It has been a privilege to work with Kwame Owusu and the Bush Theatre on ‘Dreaming and Drowning’. I’m thrilled that we’ll be extending the work we’ve been doing and extending such an important show which clearly means so much to so many people. Everyone on the team has put their hearts and souls into ‘Dreaming and Drowning’ and we’ve been so thankful for the response so far, we can’t wait for more people to see it.’
Bush Theatre Artistic Director Lynette Linton said, ‘To watch Kwame’s journey over the last years has been a privilege. This has been a play that we have seen develop over the last few years and are so proud to see it finally on our stage. Extending the show so more people can see this wonderful piece of theatre is so exciting!‘
Writer and Director Kwame Owusu was the Resident Assistant Director at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, 2021/2022 and is a Young Associate at the Gate Theatre. His work in theatre as a director includes The Bacchae (Lyric Hammersmith); Othello (ArtsEd); stoning mary (Arts University Bournemouth); The Wolf from the Door (John Thaw Studio); Rota (Antwerp Mansion); Pomona (Edinburgh Festival Fringe / King’s Arms, Manchester). Writing for audio includes The Factory (English Touring Theatre). Writing for theatre includes HORIZON (Bush Theatre). Kwame trained at the University of Manchester and Birkbeck, University of London.
Tienne Simon graduated from LAMDA in 2022. He recently finished shooting one of the lead roles (Royce) in the Barnaby Roper feature film Animal opposite Eddie Marsan, Sam Claflin and Burn Gorman. Last year he shot one of the lead roles (Bishop) in Theresa Ikoko’s BBC series Grime Kids which will air towards the end of 2023.
Tickets for Dreaming and Drowning are priced from £15 (concessions available) and can be booked at bushtheatre.co.uk or at the Box Office on 020 8743 5050.
Bush Connect free membership is now available for all Under 30s and full-time students. This year the discount has been doubled – you can now get up to £10 off tickets! See Bush Theatre’s website for details.
