Following a sold-out, 5-star run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2023, Bitter Lemons now makes its highly anticipated London premiere at Park Theatre. Written and directed by Lucy Hayes (Bonsai Baby, Theatre503; Plant Daddy, Pleasance London), this explosive and humorous play tackles the pressures on women’s bodies and the power society holds over them. Through the parallel lives of two ambitious women from different worlds, Bitter Lemons challenges the misunderstood and heavily politicised narratives that surround abortion and women’s access to it.
Brought to life by Shannon Hayes (The Lonely Londoners, Jermyn Street Theatre; Vigil, BBC; Ted Lasso, Apple TV) and Chanel Waddock (Hamlet, National Theatre; WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT GRIEF R&D, Donmar Warehouse; The Outlaws, BBC/Amazon), Bitter Lemons shares honest conversations as both women fall pregnant and undergo abortions.
Tackling the excitement, nerves and ambitious anticipation of the biggest professional challenges their careers have seen so far, two women carve their own path in this production, which heralds the right to freedom of speech. Outside of the competitive industries of football and finance, Bitter Lemons explores the complexities surrounding societal judgements and personal conflict when lives shift unexpectedly.
Writer and director Lucy Hayes comments, I wrote the play in part as a response to the overturning of Roe v Wade in 2022 and was blown away by the audience’s impassioned response. It highlighted to me the vitality of stories that address stigma and shame in nuanced, funny and surprising ways and puts a fire in each and every show. The play is a marathon for its actors and is held safely in the hands of giants – Chanel Waddock and Shannon Hayes are two of the most passionate, hard-working and brilliant actors I have had the pleasure of working with and I am so thrilled to bring the production back with them, bolder, brighter and more blazing than before.
Bitter Lemons received the Pleasance Edinburgh National Partnership award in association with Bristol Old Vic, and was shortlisted for the Pitch Your Play award with Masterclass and Theatre Royal Haymarket and the Popcorn Award in association with BBC Writers room.
