The cast has been announced for Little Miss Burden, a moving coming-of-age tale of growing up in a wheelchair in the ‘90s.
Saida Ahmed (My Favourite, AppleCart Theatre; The Glass Menagerie, Arcola Theatre; Medusa, Fusion Theatre) takes the role of Little Miss. Michelle Tiwo (Ackee and Saltfish, BBC 3; Parakeet, Boundless/Boom Shakalaka Productions; And The Rest of Me Floats, Bush Theatre) is Big Sis and Ani Nelson (The Trick, Bush Theatre; Abigail’s Party, Hull Truck Theatre; Roadkill, Channel 4) rounds off the cast as Little Sis.
Director Debbie Hannan says, “We’ve assembled a brilliant cast who have been diving deep into the play with commitment, humour and some excellent dance moves. It’s exciting and challenging to direct what feels like a truly new kind of story, and working with a writer as talented and insightful as Matilda has been a total joy. Drawing on her own experiences, award-winning writer Matilda Ibini’s new play tells the truth about being a teenager with a wheelchair, with some serious ‘90s nostalgia, Sailor Moon and a Nigerian family in East London. This refreshing tale of living with a physical impairment demystifies tropes and stereotypes about disabilities. Providing a vital platform for disabled people’s voices to be heard and their stories to be told, Little Miss Burden is a meaningful opportunity to allow wider representation on stage while exposing the difficult, but often funny, reality of growing up with a disability, brought brilliantly to life by the fantastic cast.
At thirteen years old Little Miss must learn not only to live with her wheelchair, but also to use and get on with it, as Little Miss needs to keep up with Big Sis and Little Sis. Little Miss Burden follows the trio of sisters as Little Miss learns to understand her disability and how to live with it as part of her in this moving tale of self-love and sisterly love.
Little Miss Burden is at The Bunker Theatre 3rd – 21st December 2019.
