Madison Clare and Lucy Roslyn will star as sisters Daphne and Christine, whose relationship starts to shift once Daphne is diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) in the world premiere of Pennyroyal at the Finborough theatre.
Madison Clare previously appeared in the West End production of ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’, ‘Bin Juice’ (Vault Festival), ‘Plastic’ (Old Red Lion), and on screen in ‘Semi-Detached’ (BBC2), ‘Grantchester’ and ‘Holby City’.
Writer Lucy Roslyn (Christine) has appeared in several self-penned shows including ‘Orlando’ (Vault Festival/Edinburgh Fringe), ‘Showmanship’ (Theatre 503, Brighton Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe), and her acclaimed debut, ‘The State vs John Hayes’ (Edinburgh Fringe, Theatre Royal Bath, The Lowry, King’s Head Theatre, OSH Brooklyn).
Pennyroyal opens at the Finborough Theatre for a four-week limited season on Tuesday, 12 July 2022.
Developed over lockdown, it was originally programmed to premiere at VAULT Festival 2022, and now makes its debut at the multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre.
Pennyroyal is a heartrending new play about sisterhood and motherhood; enduring love and regrets many years in the making.
When Daphne is diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Insufficiency at 19, her sister Christine steps in to help in the only way she knows how: by donating her eggs. For a moment, the world seems corrected. But as the years go by and Daphne sets out on the long road of IVF, the sisters’ relationship begins to twist. Pennyroyal explores the things expected of women and what happens when life doesn’t go to plan.
This new play was inspired by Edith Wharton’s 1922 novella ‘The Old Maid’, which was adapted 10 years later into a stage play by Zoe Akins. With her adaptation, Akins became the second woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. A hundred years later, the story is reimagined by Lucy Roslyn, with direction by Josh Roche, set and costume design by Sophie Thomas, lighting by Cheng Keng, music and sound by Hugh Sheehan.
