Omari Douglas and Alexander Lincoln are in rehearsals for This Bitter Earth, a new London production opening at the Soho Theatre this month.
The “intimate, romantic and gripping” play by Harrison David Rivers about a young black writer and his white activist lover also marks the UK directorial debut of Billy Porter.
At the Million Hoodie March in 2012, Jesse, a young black man, encounters Neil, a young white man who has unwittingly found himself at the front of the crowd with a megaphone in his hand. Flash forward several weeks, and Jesse and Neil have begun dating. However, as the months pass and Neil works his way further into the world of activism, Jesse never enters it. Over the years, Jesse and Neil negotiate the complex “firsts” of their relationship against a backdrop of political demonstrations and discord. With history unfolding around them every day, Jesse and Neil must contend with the fact that, no matter their response to social turmoil, they cannot remain untouched by it.
Douglas (It’s A Sin) stars as Jesse, with Lincoln (In From The Side) as Neil. Stanton Plummer-Cambridge (F**king Men) and Luke Striffler are understudies Jesse and Neil.
This Bitter Earth is producer Thomas Hopkins’ first development project through his independently owned company, Thomas Hopkins Productions. THP will focus on producing work in the same vein as his successful West End revival of Martin Sherman’s Rose, starring Maureen Lipman, and Simon Stephen’s Song From Far Away, staring Will Young, at Hampstead Theatre.
This Bitter Earth is written by Rivers, directed by Porter, with set & costume design by Morgan Large, original composition by Sean Green, sound design by Julian Starr, casting by Rob Kelly, production management by Toby Darvill, with Elsie O’Rourke as Company Stage Manager and Jordan Deegan-Fleet as Deputy Stage Manager.
This Bitter Earth opens at the Soho Theatre on Wednesday, June 18 and runs until Saturday, July 26. Get tickets here.
Top image: This Bitter Earth – Alexander Lincoln & Omari Douglas – credit Danny Kaan (image supplied)