Lyric Hammersmith announces shows through July 2023

The season features the UK premiere of School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play.

Sophie Thomas
Sophie Thomas

The Lyric Hammersmith has announced details of shows through to summer 2023. Upcoming productions include the nationwide premiere of Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls play, as well as revivals of Accidental Death of an Anarchist and a Brecht play.

“Our new season celebrates bold stories with a rebellious spirit. This new season has something for everyone; it asks big questions but never loses sight of joy, hope, comic relief and escapism – theatre has the power to open your heart and your mind,” said Rachel O’Riordan, Lyric Hammersmith artistic director.

The season begins with Dario Fo and Franca Rame’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist, newly adapted by Tom Basen. Daniel Raggett directs the absurd play that follows a maniac as he leads police through a person’s death.

The BAFTA-winning actor Daniel Rigby plays the maniac. Accidental Death of an Anarchist begins previews on 13 March, ahead of an opening night on 17 March and performances to 8 April.

Nina Segal then adapts Bertolt Brecht’s The Good Person of Szechwan in spring 2023. The play follows three gods who rewawrd Shen Te with a life-changing amount of money.

Anthony Lau directs Nick Blakeley, Melody Brown, Aidan Cheng, Jon Chew, Callum Coates, Togo Igawa, Suni La, Camille Mallet de Chauny, Louise Mai Newberry, Tim Samuels, Ami Tredrea and Leo Wan.

The show features composition by DJ Walde, design by Georgia Lowe, lighting design by Jessica Hung Han Yun, and sound design by Alexandra Faye Braithwaite. Previews begin on 15 April, with an opening night on 20 April, and performances to 13 May.

The UK premiere of School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play completes the season. Jocelyn Bioh’s play follows a group of young girls as their way of life is threatened at Ghana’s Aburi Girls Boarding School.

In a School Girls review on New York Theatre Guide, a critic said: “If you are a woman and you went to high school, there is much that rings painfully true in Bioh's seventy-minute immersion in those estrogen-charged, initiation-to-adulthood dramas, rife with both tenderly shared secrets and blindsiding betrayals.”

Monique Touko directs the UK premiere, with previews from 8 June, an opening night on 14 June, and performances to 15 July.

Photo credit: School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play on Broadway (Photo by Joan Marcus)

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