Bush Theatre Announce Collaboration with The Windrush 75 Network and Release Remaining 3,000 Tickets for Lenny Henry's AUGUST

The Bush Theatre has announced they are partnering with the Windrush 75 network to celebrate Lenny Henry's debut play August in England.

The partnership will distribute 750 free tickets and discounted tickets via ten organisations to Windrush generation elders and their families across the UK including many in the West Midlands where the play is set.

Bush Theatre is today also releasing the final 3,000 tickets to the play on general sale to the public.

The 75th anniversary of Windrush is an important moment in British history, helping to explain why the multi-ethnic society that we share looks as it does today. Windrush 75 is a Diamond Jubilee for modern, diverse Britain - celebrating four generations of contribution, legacy, struggle, and positive change.

Lenny Henry said: "It's vital this year to celebrate the courage of those Windrush pioneers 75 years ago, who gave up the life they knew to seek a better one here in Britain. They paved the way for those of us who have followed. With my one-man play 'August in England', I want to bring their stories to wider attention in 2023. Big respect to those pioneers - we stand on their shoulders."

Artistic Director of Bush Theatre Lynette Linton, who will co-direct August in England with the Bush Theatre's Associate Artistic Director, Daniel Bailey said: 'It's always important to us at the Bush to have audience members who reflect the work we present on our stages and Windrush 75, an organisation whose work we admire, were the obvious choice to help us achieve this goal with August in England'

Patrick Vernon, Convenor of the Windrush 75 network, said: 'We're excited to be partnering with the Bush Theatre on August in England. It means that members of the Windrush generation and their descendants can see their own experience reflected onstage, narrated by one of Britain's best-known performers. And it brings the stories of men and women like August, who built their lives and legacies in Britain, to a much wider audience in this special anniversary year.'

Charming, flawed, and with the gift of the gab, we all know a man like August Henderson. Between his three kids, devoted wife-to-be, and part-ownership of a fruit and veg shop, he is proud of the life he has built since landing in his beloved West Bromwich. So, when faced with deportation to a country he has no memory of, he isn't prepared to go quietly. Listen up, he is ready to tell his own story.

Poignant and hilarious in equal measure, August in England gives insight into the lives impacted by the injustice of the Windrush scandal.

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