The Bridge Theatre has announce a repertoire of twelve one-person plays during September and October, using the theatre’s flexible auditorium to provide around 250 socially distanced seats.
An Evening With an Immigrant by Inua Ellams
Award-winning poet and playwright Inua Ellams left Nigeria for England in 1996 aged 12.
An Evening With An Immigrant is a potent and personal account of life as an immigrant told through poetry and music telling Ellam’s ridiculous, fantastic and poignant story – escaping fundamentalist Islam, experiencing prejudice and friendship in Dublin, performing solo at the National Theatre and drinking wine with the Queen of England – all the while without a country to belong to or place to call home.
Beat the Devil – a world premiere by David Hare
On the same day that the UK government finally made the first of two decisive interventions that led to a conspicuously late lockdown, David Hare contracted Covid-19. Suffering a pageant of apparently random symptoms, Hare recalls the delirium of his illness, which mixed with fear, dream, honest medicine and dishonest politics to create a monologue of furious urgency and power.
A world premiere written by David Hare, performed by Ralph Fiennes, directed by Nicholas Hytner.
Nine Lives by Zodwa Nyoni
“Some of us wanted to stop being afraid.
Some of us wanted to find ourselves.
Some of us wanted to belong.”
Fleeing from his home where a fresh wave of homophobia threatens his life, Ishmael has sought sanctuary in the UK.
Dispersed to Leeds, Ishmael waits to hear his fate, he waits for a new life to begin amongst strangers. But not everyone is bad can he find a place to call home again?
Quarter Life Crisis by Yolanda Mercy
After a sell out performance in 2017, Yolanda Mercy is back with her hit theatre and radio show Quarter Life Crisis, mixing addictive baselines and spoken word.
Alicia is a hot mess. She doesn’t know what she’s doing with her life. Swiping left, swiping right to find the perfect match. Even though she’s a Londoner, born and bred, the scent of Lagos peppers her existence in the ends. Everyone around her seems to know where they’re going in life, but she’s just trying to find ways to cheat growing up and keep her 16-25 railcard.
What does it mean to be an adult and when do you become one?
Talking Heads by Alan Bennett
While the Bridge Theatre was closed, they worked with BBC One to produce Alan Bennett’s landmark Talking Heads monologues which were were broadcast on BBC One in June.
Now, eight of them come to the stage in a series of unique double bills, performed in rep, all with the same leading actors whose performances were universally acclaimed on television.
Sometimes disturbing, often hilarious and always profoundly humane.
Presented in four double bills:
Monica Dolan in The Shrine and Lesley Manville in Bed Among the Lentils
Rochenda Sandall in The Outside Dog and Kristin Scott Thomas in The Hand of God
Lucian Msamati in Playing Sandwiches and Imelda Staunton in A Lady of Letters
Tamsin Greig in Nights in the Gardens of Spain and Maxine Peake in Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet
