Tron Theatre Tron Theatre Welcomes Award Winning New Play Telling The Hidden Story Of Henrietta Lacks

Tron Theatre will welcome Family Tree by Mojisola Adebayo on its the world premiere tour. Directed by Matthew Xia, Artistic Director of Actors Touring Company, the play tells the extraordinary legacy of Henrietta Lacks, whose influence on modern-day medicine still reverberates today, yet her story has remained hidden until now.

Henrietta was a Black woman and is one of most remarkable people in medical history. Her cells form the basis of the most important medical research and breakthroughs happening today, from cancer to HIV to COVID. But Henrietta never knew any of this. Her cells were taken without her or her family's knowledge or permission.

Family Tree is a beautifully poetic drama about race, health, the environment that moves through time, exploring the stories of women like Henrietta, from 18th century South Carolina to the NHS nurses of 2023. The play is both a remembrance and a celebration with music, singing, plenty of humour and ultimately a transformation for Henrietta, as her legacy allows her to join the gods.

Family Tree won the 2021 Alfred Fagon Award, the leading Black British Playwrighting prize, for best new play. Director Matthew Xia said: "Mojisola Adebayo is an exceptional writer and I'm excited that her award-winning play will be seen by audiences far and wide. There's a beauty in her work that responds so well to the present moment whilst also holding historical malpractice to account. It's fearless, brutally honest, at turns hilarious, and ultimately transformative. Denied her place in history, now is the time to bring Henrietta's epic legacy to life on stage."

Originally commissioned by ATC and the Young Vic Theatre in 2020, Family Tree has been described as 'Whip Smart'; 'Beautifully poetic'; 'A feast of diverse delight'; 'A thoughtful take on the power of women at work'; and 'A powerful, thought-provoking and funny play about cultural identity, class, race and power'.

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