Park Theatre have announced three new shows for the Summer: two short runs in Park90 in July, and the European premiere of When It Happens to You starring Amanda Abbington in Park200 in August.
A theatrical memoir by a New York Times best-selling author, When It Happens to You (31 Jul – 31 Aug) is based on Tawni O’Dell’s lived experience of holding her family together after a life changing event. Amanda Abbington (Sherlock, Mr Selfridge) will lead an ensemble cast in a show that mines the depths of human courage and the resolve to survive following a shattering incident. Directed by Park Theatre’s Artistic Director Jez Bond, this pacy drama is fuelled by tears, laughter, hope and love. Tawni O’Dell is a bestselling author on both sides of the Atlantic with titles such as Back Roads, Coal Run and Sister Mine. Her work has been translated into fifteen languages and has been published in over forty countries.
Amanda Abbington said: ‘When Jez sent me When It Happens to You, I immediately read it in one sitting – I couldn’t put it down. The story is important and necessary, and the characters are nuanced, complex and completely relatable. The Mother character of Tara is a gift of a role for any actor, and I’m thrilled to be working with Jez Bond who I know will direct the piece with the care and sensitivity it deserves.’
Jez Bond said, “When It Happens to You is an important, timely and powerful piece of theatre. I’m thrilled to be working with Amanda Abbington who read the play and, like me, immediately felt compelled to do it. The best theatre is often a story told simply that connects to the heart of the audience, and I can’t think of a more powerful play to present within the intimate setting of Park200. By equal turns heartbreaking and hopeful, we invite you in to experience this truly theatrical page turner.”
In Park90, I am Lysistrata (11 – 13 Jul) features a company of ten women actors from lands as far flung as Ukraine, Syria and Zimbabwe, now seeking sanctuary in London. The show is a provocative piece about sisterhood and solidarity, losing homes and making new ones, in a radical modern reimagining of a 2500-year-old Greek comedy about going on strike to end a war. Directed by Sepy Baghaei and written by Carmen Nasr, it has been devised with the company and draws on their own untold stories.
Later in the month, eight Islington teens take to the stage with Grow Up (17 – 20 Jul) by Company Three. Co-created with the company of thirteen- to sixteen-year-olds, this is a play about the beautiful, messy and joyful journey through teenage years. It’s about memory, joy and dreams for the future. It’s about beaches and GCSEs. It’s about what it’s like to be told to grow up, but never being given the space to do that.
