Conversations, dispatches and ideas from the Bush Theatre.
Bush Theatre Artistic Director Lynette Linton:
‘Our 50th birthday season at the Bush is a celebration of half a century of doing what we do best; providing for and reflecting the community around us, and commissioning plays which give voice to unheard and marginalised voices, often during difficult times.
Looking back at the plays produced both at our original home above a pub on Shepherd’s Bush Green and now our thriving building on the Uxbridge Road, the common thread has been to create debate, to broaden audiences’ horizons, and most importantly to entertain.
It would be impossible to produce this work without the support of our audiences and donors and those donating today may well be helping develop the next Arinzé Kene or Victoria Wood.’
Such a huge milestone calls for an absolutely epic celebration. Join us for a brand new season packed with new writers, new writing and new voices – all commissioned and developed here at the Bush.
We exist to find and nurture the stars of tomorrow, and bring their work to our stages. This season, we celebrate the success of our writers by proudly staging four plays from past members of the Bush’s Emerging Writers Group, including House of Ife by Beru Tessema, Favour by Ambreen Razia, Invisible by Nikhil Parmar and Clutch by Will Jackson.
We strive to reflect the world outside our doors, and platform the perspectives so often missing from the British stages. This shines through in our new season – whether it’s seeing ambitious, older women (Paradise Now! by Margaret Perry), young black girl joy (Sleepova by Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini) or young gay Pakistanis (The P Word by Waleed Akhtar).
We are dedicated to bringing these stories to life.
For fifty years, we have been pushing the envelope, challenging ourselves, and working to shape the face of British theatre. We can’t wait to honour the groundbreaking work of those who have come before us in our series of Bush Retrospectives – handing beloved past productions, including Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing, to our Young Company to breathe new life into.
We serve the diverse community of Shepherd’s Bush and across London.
Our community is at the heart of what we do. It might be staging work in our season, with our local community partners (People Show 142: WE ARE HERE), celebrating Notting Hill Carnival (The Route), shaping the next generation of theatre-makers in our Young Companies, both of whom have main house shows coming up this year. Or, simply serving as a bustling hub that belongs to the people around us – to meet, to share, to grab a cuppa.
We are here to share the stories that matter to you. From narratives exploring contemporary family life, be that British East African (House of Ife by Beru Tessema) or Muslim (Favour by Ambreen Razia) households, to laying bare the personal toll of the Windrush scandal (August in England by Lenny Henry), unpacking questions of masculinity and the beauty of unexpected friendships (Clutch by Will Jackson) or delving into all we’ll do to cope with loneliness (Elephant by Anoushka Lucas).
We’ve got so much more planned to share with you over the coming months as we continue to celebrate our past and forge ahead into our future. We can’t wait to welcome you in to mark our birthday together.
