Rakie Ayola will make her Chichester debut in the UK premiere of Mom, How Did You Meet The Beatles? by Adrienne Kennedy and Adam P. Kennedy, running from 16 June – 8 July at Chichester’s Minerva Theatre, directed by Diyan Zora.
Adrienne Kennedy’s autobiographical play – told in the form of a one-act, near-monologue to her son Adam – is a mesmerising and disquieting tale of a young playwright trying to make her name in a new world.
Playwright Adrienne Kennedy impulsively leaves New York for London with her young son, intent on adapting John Lennon’s book ‘In His Own Write’ for the stage.
In the heady atmosphere of the Swinging ‘60s, she finds herself rubbing shoulders with a dizzying array of celebrities, including all four Beatles. And when her idols, Laurence Olivier – director of the National Theatre – and his influential literary manager Kenneth Tynan, along with actor Victor Spinetti, promise to produce her play, it seems like a dream come true. But slowly the stars seem to align in a different way.
Performances will be followed by a specially produced film exploring the background to Adrienne Kennedy, her play and its influences and impact, including an interview with Adam P. Kennedy.
Rakie Ayola won a BAFTA Best Supporting Actress Award in 2021 for her role in TV drama Anthony; her many leading television roles also include The Pact, Grace, Shetland, No Offence and Holby City. Her recent theatre work includes On Bear Ridge for National Theatre Wales/Royal Court, for which she won the Black British Theatre Award for Best Actress, and Hermione in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in the West End.
Diyan Zora, winner of the 2021 Genesis Futures Award, directs.
The production will be designed by Anisha Fields, with lighting design by Joshua Gadsby, sound design by George Dennis and video design by Hayley Egan; the casting director is Lotte Hines CDG.
The production is sponsored by Bishops Printers.
