Following a critically acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Stan Zimmerman’s Right Before I Go will transfer to London’s Soho Theatre for a limited engagement from 5 to 10 September.
Written by the Golden Girls and Gilmore Girls writer, the production arrives in London during Suicide Awareness Month and includes performances on World Suicide Prevention Day, 10 September.
Directed by Abigail Morris, the London run will feature an all-star cast including Maureen Lipman, Iz Hesketh, Dominique Moore, Claire-Marie Hall, Emrhys Cooper, Gerard McCarthy, Paul Bigley and Tosh Wanogho-Maud, alongside Zimmerman himself.
Right Before I Go explores the impact of suicide through real suicide notes from celebrities, veterans, bullied teenagers, LGBTQ+ individuals and people who have survived suicide attempts. Each performance is followed by a talkback involving the cast, audience members and a local mental health professional.
The production has previously toured across the United States, including a New York run at The Tank featuring performers such as Vanessa Williams, Olly Alexander, Christine Taylor and Patrick Page. At this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, Zimmerman was joined by Wendie Malick and Emily Kuroda.
Speaking about the production, Zimmerman said: “After the suicide death of my good friend, Kevin Gill, I was at a loss about how to process this. Seeing so much shame around the topic, I decided to create a play in the vein of The Vagina Monologues, easily produced with actors on stools, reading the script from music stands. My hope is that this will create much needed discussion about a very complicated issue. I’m thrilled that London audiences will get the chance to see the show straight after our Edinburgh festival run, particularly during September, which is World Suicide Awareness Month.”
The London transfer is produced by Rodrigo Jorge for Dreamatorium Entertainment and co-produced by Joan Lane for Wild Thyme Productions.
Performances take place at Soho Theatre on 5, 9 and 10 September, with each performance running for 60 minutes followed by a 30-minute post-show discussion.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
