Orange Tree Theatre (OT) today announces the full cast for the world premiere of Isley Lynn’s The Swell. Hannah Hauer-King directs Jessica Clark, Ruby Crepin-Glyne, Viss Elliot Safavi, Saroja-Lily Ratnavel, Shuna Snow, and Sophie Ward. This OT co-production with Damsel Productions and The Women’s Prize for Playwriting is a thrilling romantic drama, featuring a live vocal score, spanning decades of love, sacrifice, and betrayal, opening on 29 June, with previews from the 24 June and runs until 29 July.
Artistic Director Tom Littler said today: “The Swell is funny, romantic, and tender, with a perfectly engineered plot: I couldn’t put it down. Isley Lynn has been building a reputation as one of the most exciting playwrights around: The Swell is set to be her best yet. I’m delighted that we’ve assembled this wonderful ensemble cast.”
Director of The Swell, Hannah Hauer-King, and co-founder of Damsel Productions said today: “When Isley and I developed this play with Hightide back in 2017, we couldn’t have hoped for a better home than the Orange Tree. The in-the-round intimacy of the space is perfect for a play that manages to be both laugh-out-loud funny, and filled with tragedy and loss. And though it is a play that puts six queer female characters centre stage, it really is a play for everyone. The questions it asks about relationships, fidelity and trust, will resonate for anyone who has been in love.”
Ellie Keele, co-founder of Women’s Prize for Playwriting said today: “The Swell was one of only 40 plays shortlisted for the 2020 Women’s Prize for Playwriting, out of a total 1162 entries. It was a sure-fire entry on the shortlist on the basis of its lyrical tenderness perfectly counterpointing its epic sweep. We don’t read many plays that can execute that combination so exquisitely. Added to that, Isley’s dialogue is perfectly pitched and compelling and her characters are some of the most interesting and plausible that I’ve ever come across in a play. I have no doubt that audiences will delight in this play just as much as our reading panel did. Isley Lynn is one of our finest writers for the stage and we (the Women’s Prize for Playwriting) are thrilled to be co-producing The Swell.”
