Pascal Productions today announces casting for the UK and English language première of Wendy Beckett’s Sappho.
Wendy Beckett and Adam Fitzgerald co-direct Georgie Fellows (Sappho), Emmanuel Akwafo (Narrator), Eleanor Kane (Adore), Fanos Xenofos (Pittacus), Jumoké Fashola (Cleis), Velile Tshabalala (Mrs Obstinatus / Aphrodite), Aidan Banyard (Mr Obstinatus /Hephaestus), Kostas Tekkis (Dancer), Aaron Bladen (Dancer), Lucy Mackay (Dancer), Roann Hassani McCloskey (Chorus Leader) and Andrew Franklin (Chorus Leader) in this new satirical play inspired by the famous Greek poet – integrating the original poetry with contemporary music and dance.
Fusing ancient poetry with modern music, Greek chorus with contemporary dance, Sappho is a thrilling adult fairy tale of mythic proportions that may – or may not – have happened.
We are somewhere between imagination and 6th century BC on the Greek island of Lesbos. The poet Sappho creates a new world in her own words. She breaks the rules of her society and elevates her gender. Socrates calls her work beautiful, Plato describes her as the tenth Muse and many think her work rivals even that of Homer’s Iliad.
Sappho has fallen in love with a woman but her family and a civilisation on the precipice of democracy have other plans for her. The defiantly spirited Sappho comes under fire and soon she must decide whether to marry a man for the advancement of her society or remain true to her own words – and her authentic self.
Expect dancing, passion, poetry and plenty of queer joy as Pascal Productions’ international hit makes its debut on the London stage.
Sappho premières at Southwark Playhouse Elephant on 8 May, with previews from 3 May, and runs until 25 May.
