Bush Theatre

Madani Younis announces final season as Bush Theatre artistic director

Will Longman
Will Longman

A new season of work has been announced at the Bush Theatre, including two world premieres in what will be Madani Younis' final programme as artistic director at the theatre.

The season begins in February with Babylon Festival, which celebrates global influences and experiences of Black and Brown people, and is presented by Tobi Kyeremateng and Ruthie Osterman. It will include gig theatre, live podcast recordings and takeovers by a range of different artists from 4th to 16th February.

From 20th February, And The Rest of Me Floats will be directed by Ben Buratta with a cast featuring Josh-Susan Enright, Barry Fitzgerald, Elijah W Harris, Emily Joh Miller, Tamir Amar Pettet and Yasmin Zadeh. Written and devised by the company, the play looks at gender in a world we mostly spend online. It runs until 16th March.

Eve Leigh's The Trick will get its world premiere directed by Roy Alexander Weise from 19th February. Described as a 'magic show about getting older and coming to terms with loss', it tells the story of Mira, who isn't ready to let go of her late husband Jonah, who died seven months ago.

Estelle Savasta's play Going Through will get its UK premiere from 28th March, directed by Omar Elerian, and translated by Kirsten Hazel Smith. Based on the French original Traversée, the bilingual play mixes English and British Sign Language to tell the story of a young girl called Nour who is kidnapped and sent around the world.

From 7th May, Iseult Golden & David Horan will direct their play Class. With a cast including Stephen Jones, Sarah Morris, Will O'Connell, it is about a couple with a son who they're told is struggling at school, and are recommended a psychologist.

Yvette is a play by Urielle Klein-Mekongo, and will be directed by Gbolahan Obisesan from 14th May. The one-woman show is about a teenager who talks about the issues in her life: crushes, trying to be a woman, virginity, and an 'Uncle'.

Caryl Phillips' play Strange Fruit will run from 12th June, directed by Nancy Medina. Telling the story of two young Black people living in '80s England, they focus on their roots - such as the father they left behind them in the Caribbean - rather than the political system that is inherently stacked against them.

The final production in the season is Rust, by Kenneth Emson. The play is about a couple who have signed a contract for a studio flat under a pseudonym, after years of married life, as a way to spice up their marriage. Directed by Eleanor Rhode, it will run from 26th June.

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