Cast Set For HER Productions' CRAVE At Manchester's 53two

As rehearsals begin in Manchester for Crave, HER Productions today announces the cast taking on the powerful roles ambiguously named by single letters: M, A, C and B. Directed by Oldham Coliseum Artistic Director & Chief Executive Chris Lawson, Crave will run at 53two from 31 May - 4 June.

Angry, funny, defiant, kind and cruel, Crave is a deeply personal meditation on the meaning of love. A lyrical and non-linear style favours emotional truth over clear storytelling and evokes the sensation of a mind reeling from trauma, love, craving, hope and hopelessness.

"Here I am, once again, here I am, in the darkness, once again" In a damaged world, four characters search for the light...

Crave's cast features Jake Ferretti as A, Etta Fusi as M, Matthew Heywood as B and Elizabeth Meddows as C.

Jake Ferretti is a qualified mental health first aider alongside acting, and hosts his own podcast, My Sh**ty Actor Boyfriend, in which he speaks to creatives about their mental health, how the industry helps or hinders it and what can be done to make positive change. His theatre credits include Hound of the Baskervilles (Original Theatre Company UK Tour), OR (Octagon Theatre Bolton), The Understudy (Lawrence Batley Theatre), Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (National Theatre), Enjoy (Gielgud Theatre and UK Tour) and Eight (MAP Rep Company).

Jake commented: "Sarah Kane is unlike any writer I've ever worked with. I feel a particular affinity with her... perhaps it's that her mental health had such a deep effect on her, which, ultimately, would prove too much for her to bear. Not every actor gets to speak her words and that is a real privilege."

Etta Fusi is a performer and artist from Hull. Her work as an actor includes SHTF (Kandinsky & Schauspielhaus Vienna) All Hardest of Woman, The Book of Names and On Corporation Street (ANU), The Language of Kindness (Complicité) and A Streetcar Named Desire (Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester).

Matthew Heywood's theatre credits include The Book Thief, Peter Pan, Beryl and Seagulls, (Octagon Theatre Bolton); Robin Hood (Exeter Northcott Theatre); ZORRO (Charing Cross Theatre, 2022); ZORRO (Hope Mill Theatre, 2019) and FIB (Kimbo Theatre).

Elizabeth Meddows graduated from Manchester School of Theatre in 2022. C is her debut theatre role, and she is excited to embrace Sarah Kane's abstract form as a new challenge.

Writer Sarah Kane is known for works that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain and torture; her early work was marked for its use of extreme and violent stage action. In contrast, Crave is characterised by a purely poetic intensity and openness to creative theatrical interpretation. Premiered in 1998 at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, the heart-rending play's poetic nature transformed Kane's critical reputation.

Director Chris Lawson makes a return to the rehearsal room for Crave, following the heart-breaking closure of Oldham's historic theatre.

Chris said: "It's been an incredibly difficult couple of years for everyone, and especially painful for us in Oldham over the past few months. Whilst I'm still fighting for theatre in Oldham and supporting our team as we face redundancy together and continue to clear our building, directing Crave is medicinal. I believe whole-heartedly in the power of theatre to make us confront our emotions and begin to heal, and I'm getting back to what I love - making theatre."

HER Productions Founder Hannah Ellis Ryan, said: "We are so proud to be presenting Sarah Kane's iconic work at 53two in 2023; a time where we feel our world is ready to grieve, reconnect and heal from the global pandemic."

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