THE BEACH HOUSE Will Have its World Premiere at the Park Theatre

A tender new play that explores the fragility of female relationships as three women grapple with motherhood, sisterhood and distractions. Conceived against an ever-changing coastal backdrop, Jo Harper's play explores the crisis of becoming a parent, knotted bonds between two sisters and the endurance of familial and romantic love. The Beach House will premiere at Park Theatre having been shortlisted for Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize. The cast comprises Gemma Barnett (Offie winner Best Actress for A Hundred Words for Snow) Kathryn Bond (Breach Theatre's It's True, It's True, It's True) and Gemma Lawrence (A Dead Body in Taos).

Moving out of the city to raise their baby, the old house by the sea is supposed to be a peaceful new start for Liv and Kate. But Liv, the stay-at-home mother, is a songwriter in crisis who's too distracted to write, while Kate, who's just had a baby, needs to go back to work to get some order back in her life. And then there's Liv's sister Jenny who, despite wanting to distance herself from her overbearing sibling, finds herself being drawn back to the beach house time and time again.

Writer Jo Harper said "I am thrilled to be bringing these three complex female protagonists to the stage with all their individual quirks and flaws. The play is inspired by my own experience of new motherhood, by women I know and by my ongoing fascination with female sexuality and relationships. At the heart of the play is an intense and rivalrous relationship between two sisters. A relationship I know from my own experience. I wanted to write a play about love between women that is challenging and complicated and enduring."

Writer Jo Harper's plays include Can You Hear Me Running? (co-created with Louise Breckon-Richards) produced at Pleasance Theatre, London in 2016, an "engaging one-woman show combining energetic storytelling and rich visuals" (The Stage) and Whalesong (David Russell Theatre). She was part of verbatim theatre company Non-Fiction Theatre (dir Mark Wing-Davey) and co-wrote Sex 1:Death 2, "a moving and frequently hilarious experience...an invigorating take on conventional notions of theatre" (Metro)" produced at Pleasance Edinburgh, Soho theatre, BAC. She wrote the award winning short film Daughter (dir Athena Mandis).

Bethany Pitts is an award winning theatre director specialising in new work, both scripted and devised. Most recently, Bethany directed Juniper and Jules at the Soho Theatre - opening to critical acclaim. She was Assistant Director at Theatre Royal Plymouth from 2012-2013, working under Artistic Director Simon Stokes, and prior to that was Resident Assistant Director at Theatre 503. She has trained on The National Theatre Studio Directors Course with world class directors including Katie Mitchell, Lyndsey Turner and through Living Pictures, run by renowned directing coach Elen Bowman. She is currently a recipient of the Arts Council's Developing Your Creative Practice fund to develop and scale up her work over the next 12 months. She is also a regular director for BADA (British American Drama Academy) and an Associate Lecturer on the Performing Arts BA at Bucks University, as well as working extensively with young people. In 2021, Bethany directed Sirens by Kenny Emson (Mercury Theatre, Colchester). Prior to the pandemic, she was working on the UK premiere The Roommate by Jen Silverman (Theatre Royal Plymouth), and the tour and transfer of Juniper and Jules (Soho Theatre / UK Tour).

Park Theatre presents exceptional theatre in the heart of Finsbury Park, boasting two world-class performance spaces: Park200 for predominantly larger scale productions by established talent, and Park90, a flexible studio space, for emerging artists. In nine years, it has enjoyed eight West End transfers (including Daytona starring Maureen Lipman, The Boys in the Band starring Mark Gatiss, Pressure starring David Haig and The Life I Lead starring Miles Jupp), two National Theatre transfers, twenty-five national tours, six Olivier Award nominations, has won Offie Awards for Best New Play and Best Foodie Experience and won a Theatre of the Year award from The Stage. Park Theatre are grateful to all those who have donated to the Park Life fund, supporting the venue through the pandemic.

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