Bush Theatre confirms the creative team and releases a new trailer for Anoushka Lucas solo show ‘Elephant’ at Bush Theatre. ‘Elephant’ previews from 24 October.
Part gig, part piano lesson, part journey through Empire, Elephant, a powerful new play from singer, songwriter, actress, and composer Anoushka Lucas who was recently celebrated in the role of Laurey in Oklahoma! at the Young Vic, opens at the Bush Theatre on 24 October (press night 25 October). A Bush commission, Elephant first appeared as part of the Bush’s Protest series of videos in 2020, a response to the murder of George Floyd.
‘The men with the Piano look up the narrow staircase of our little flat and they turn to Dad, light their fags, and say, “We might have to take the windows out”.’
A piano came through the sky and landed in Lylah’s council flat, just for her. As she pours over the keys and sound floods into all the rooms, Lylah falls in love.
At school, Lylah can’t ask questions – she’s got to be good, good, good, or else she’ll lose her scholarship. At home she can’t ask questions; her cousins say she talks weird, and her parents are distracted. So, she asks her piano: Where did you come from? Why are you here? And their shared history tumbles into the light.
Anoushka Lucas’ music has been championed on BBC Introducing, BBC Radio 2, and Jazz FM and her debut album Dark Soul was released in 2019. As an actress, Anoushka’s credits include U.Me (BBC World Service); After Life (National Theatre); Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Chiaroscuro (Bush Theatre); Faces in the Crowd (Gate Theatre); and Sparks (Edinburgh Fringe and Vault Festival). As a composer, Anoushka worked alongside Omar Lye-Fook to co-compose the score to The Ballad of Klook and Vinette by Ché Walker (Park Theatre/NAMT Festival NYC), then went on to collaborate with Nikki Yeoh and Sheila Atim on an original score for The Etienne Sisters (Theatre Royal Stratford East). More recently, Anoushka wrote the score for Sparks by Jessica Butcher (BBC Radio 4/Edinburgh Festival/Vault Festival).
Jess Edwards is a Queer writer and director who splits her time between Margate and Tottenham in North London. Directing credits include Funeral Flowers (Roundhouse and UK tour), Albatross (Playground Theatre), Hotter/Fitter (Soho Theatre), Sparks (HighTide / Radio 4 / Pleasance), The Other Tchaikovsky (Radio 4), Passengers (Summerhall / Adelaide Fringe), Nacktsängerin (BKA-Theater. Berlin), Denim: World Tour (Soho Theatre / Underbelly), Punts (Theatre503), Torch (New Diorama / Underbelly), The Itinerant Music Hall (Lyric Hammersmith / Latitude), The Box (Theatre Deli / Latitude), Jekyll & Hyde (Southwark Playhouse / Assembly). Jess has worked as an associate director at The Young Vic, Almeida, Theatre Royal Bath, and in the West End. She has won the Summerhall Lustrum Award for Passengers and the Best New Musical Award for Sparks. In 2021 she was awarded a Developing Your Creative Practice grant from the Arts Council for her writing. She is currently workshopping her first play, creating a new musical with Trafalgar Entertainment Group, and developing two original screenplays.
The Bush Theatre’s Studio space continues to be a laboratory for the very best in new writing, new stories, and new experiences premiering a host of world-class plays about things that matter from some of the best up-and-coming artists, an example of which, 10 Nights a co-production with Graeae and Tamasha, was nominated for an Olivier Award last year.
Breaking new ground this season the Bush continues its commitment to freelance practitioners by employing a core group of creatives to work on all four shows in the Studio season including set and costume designer Georgia Wilmot, lighting designer Laura Howard, sound designer Bella Kear, and production manager Ruth Burgon. They have created a common space for the Studio season, uniting the four different worlds of the plays and collaborating with different directors on each show.
After graduating with a degree in Interior Design from Liverpool John Moores University, Set and Costume Designer Georgia Wilmot worked on Misfits S3 (Channel 4), and as a costume trainee on Monroe (ITV) before deciding that Set Design was something to be explored. Georgia’s set and costume credits include The Route, BACK UP, and 2036 (Bush Theatre); Covered (New Heritage Theatre at Paddington Arts Centre); Superdrug’s YouTube channel Christmas campaign 2017; I knew you (Birmingham Repertory Theatre); and days of significance (Questors Theatre). In 2018 Georgia had the opportunity to create concept designs and illustrations for Designer Tim McQuillen-Wright for Secret Cinema’s Blade Runner.
Sound Designer Bella Kear graduated from LAMDA in July 2021 with a First-Class Honours Degree in Production and Technical Arts. Bella’s credits as Sound Designer include The Animal Kingdom (Hampstead); The Night Woman (The Other Palace); First Love is the Revolution (East15); The Faith Machine (RADA); Darling (Hope Theatre); and Flux (Theatre503).
Laura Howard is a Lighting and Sound Designer originally from Croydon. She graduated in 2020 from LAMDA’s Production and Technical Arts course and was a recipient of the William and Katherine Longman Charitable Trust Scholarship. Laura’s Lighting Design credits include Exodus (National Theatre Scotland); Juniper & Jules (Soho Theatre); Dead Air (Stockroom); Moreno (Theatre 503); SPLINTERED (Soho Theatre); Cells out (Camden People’s Theatre); We Never Get Off At Sloane Square (Drayton Arms); SHUGA FIXX vs The Illuminati (Relish Theatre); curious (Soho Theatre); and The Moors, Three Sisters, I Hate it Here, Sparks, Nine Night, and The Laramie Project (LAMDA).
Ruth Burgon is a graduate of LAMDA and primarily works in new writing. Credits as Production Manager include Never Not Once (Park); BACK UP! (Bush Theatre); Nora, Let the Right One In (LAMDA). As Props Supervisor: Old Bridge (Bush Theatre). Stage Management credits include Black is the Colour of My Voice (Seabright Productions); Coming Clean (King’s Head); Six (Bunker Theatre).
The intimate and electric atmosphere of the Studio offers the chance to get up close to the action and see stories audiences will be talking about for months to come, written, and performed by the future stars of theatre
Tickets priced from £12 (concessions available) can be booked at bushtheatre.co.uk or at the Box Office on 020 8743 5050.
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A Bush Theatre production
Elephant
Written and performed by Anoushka Lucas
Developed and Directed by Jess Edwards
Designer – Georgia Wilmot
Lighting Designer – Laura Howard
Sound Designer – Bella Kear
Dramaturgy – Daniel Bailey and Deirdre O’’Halloran
Script Consultancy – Tia Bannon
Production Manager – Ruth Burgon
24 October – 12 November
Monday – Saturday at 8 pm
Wednesday matinees – 26 Oct & 2, 9 Nov at 3pm
Saturday Matinees – 29 Oct & 5, 12 Nov at 3pm
Relaxed Performance – 29 Oct at 8 pm
Captioned performance – 2 Nov at 8pm
Audio Described performance – 9 Nov at 8 pm
Bush Theatre
7 Uxbridge Rd, London W12 8LJ, United Kingdom