Bethan Mary-James

Review: WEDDING BAND, Lyric Hammersmith

Interracial marriage has been legal in the United States for less than six decades. To put it into perspective, sliced bread was first sold forty years earlier. Set in 1918 South Carolina, Wedding Band is a blistering portrayal of unjust laws and discrimination, of conscious and unconscious bias, of finding love inside hopeless prejudice. Alice Childress’ American classic describes a Deep South riddled with hatred and stigma, a picture that’s uncomfortably close to a certain party’s opinions and that, sixty years later, remains unfortunately topical. A white baker and a black seamstress defy public opinion in this sombre drama.

Photos: Go Inside Rehearsal for WEDDING BAND: A LOVE/HATE STORY IN BLACK AND WHITE

See photos from inside the rehearsal room for Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White, written by award-winning American playwright Alice Childress.

Cast Set For WEDDING BAND at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre

Lyric Hammersmith Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for the UK premiere of Alice Childress’ Wedding Band:  A Love/Hate Story in Black and White, directed by Stage Debut Award winner Monique Touko, who returns to the Lyric after the smash-hit production of School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play. 

Guest Blog: 'I Never Thought I Would Ever Win' Director Kalungi Ssebandeke on Winning The JMK Award and Directing MEETINGS at the Orange Tree Theatre

In 2015, I happened to walk past a striking poster with an image of a African man in what appeared to be some kind of high ranking military garb with a glass of dark liquor in one hand and a cigar in the other. I recognised this man. It was the late great Seun Shote.

Review: MEETINGS, Orange Tree Theatre

As The Statesman says, the late Mustapha Matura was “the most perceptive and humane of Black dramatists writing in Britain. His 1981 satire Meetings can be proof of that, first opening Off-Broadway and now making its first major 21st-century UK return to the Orange Tree Theatre. In his directorial debut, JMK Young Directors Award winner Kalungi Ssebandeke’s production proves why this classic remains hilarious as ever.

Photos: First Look at MEETINGS at the Orange Tree Theatre

All new photos have been released for Meetings at Orange Tree Theatre, opening tonight 18 October and running until 11 November starring Martina Laird, Kevin N Golding and Bethan Mary-James. Check out the photos here!

Orange Tree Theatre Reveals Casting For Mustapha Matura's MEETINGS

Orange Tree Theatre has announced the full cast for Mustapha Matura's Meetings. Learn more about who is starring in the production here!

Casting Confirmed for Giles Terera's THE MEANING OF ZONG

Giles Terera’s boldly inventive debut play The Meaning of Zong will make its London premiere at Barbican Theatre in April 2023, following its world premiere at Bristol Old Vic and visits to Liverpool and Edinburgh last year.

Photos: First Look at TROUBLE IN BUTETOWN at the Donmar Warehouse

All new production photos have been released from the world première production of Diana Nneka Atuona’s Trouble in Butetown, directed by Tinuke Craig, that is currently running at the Donmar Warehouse until 25 March.

Donmar Warehouse Announces Cast For the World Premiere of Diana Nneka Atuona's TROUBLE IN BUTETOWN

Artistic Director Michael Longhurst and Executive Director Henny Finch have announced the casting for Diana Nneka Atuona's Trouble in Butetown. Tinuke Craig directs Samuel Adewunmi, Rita Bernard-Shaw, Ifan Huw Dafydd, Zaqi Ismail, Gareth Kennerley, Bethan Mary-James, Sarah Parish and Zephryn Taitte.

Cast Announced for the World Premiere of THE MEANING OF ZONG World Premiere

Rehearsals begin today for Giles Terera’s debut stage play The Meaning of Zong, co-directed by Giles Terera and Tom Morris.

THE MERTHYR STIGMATIST Will Have its Digital World Premiere From Sherman Theatre and Theatre Uncut

Originally scheduled as part of Sherman Theatre's Autumn 2020 season, The Merthyr Stigmatist will be presented in a co-production with Theatre Uncut this Spring as a fully-staged digital production recorded in the Sherman Theatre Studio.

The Abbey Theatre Presents The Digital Premiere Of THIS BEAUTIFUL VIRTUAL VILLAGE

This August, the Abbey Theatre presents the digital premiere of Lisa Tierney-Keogh's This Beautiful Virtual Village - a witty, Zoom-age adaptation of her award-winning play This Beautiful Village (2019).

BWW Review: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, Wilton's Music Hall

Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory have a lot of fun with their London transfer of Shakespeare's battle of the sexes, but not every decision pays off and they need to be more sympathetic to the unique pros and cons of this remarkable venue.

THE BEAUTIFUL VILLAGE Premieres On Abbey Stage

In September 2019, the Abbey Theatre will premiere This Beautiful Village by Abbey Theatre Associate Playwright Lisa Tierney-Keogh on the Abbey Stage. After 10 years writing in New York and heading up the American wing of Waking the Feminists, this marks the critically-acclaimed Irish playwright's debut at Ireland's National Theatre.

Cast Announced for Comedian Sara Pascoe's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE Adaptation at Nottingham Playhouse

Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company and York Theatre Royal announce casting for their brand new comic adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice by Sara Pascoe.

Full Cast Announced for Talawa Theatre's UK Tour of MOON ON A RAINBOW SHAWL, Including Martina Laird and Jude Akuwudike

Full casting has been announced for Talawa Theatre Company's restaging of the National Theatre production of Errol John's MOON ON A RAINBOW SHAWL. Directed by Artistic Director Michael Buffong, the production welcomes back acclaimed actress Martina Laird (Casualty and Shameless) as Sophie, Jude Akuwudike (The Faith Machine at the Royal Court) as Charlie and Ray Emmet Brown (A Raisin in the Sun at the Royal Exchange) as Prince. The production will begin a UK tour at the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich on Wednesday 5 February 2014.

Don Warrington & Dona Croll to Star in ALL MY SONS at Talawa Theatre; Full Cast Announced

This autumn Talawa Theatre Company and the Royal Exchange Theatre will present a major revival of ALL MY SONS by Arthur Miller. The production will star two of the country's most distinguished actors - Don Warrington MBE (RISING DAMP, DEATH IN PARADISE) as Joe and Doña Croll (CASUALTY, DOCTORS) as Kate, and will run from Wednesday 25 September to Saturday 26 October 2013.