ORANGE TREE THEATRE ANNOUNCES FULL CAST FOR
DAEL ORLANDERSMITH’S YELLOWMAN
The Orange Tree Theatre today announces full cast for the major London revival of Dael Orlandersmith’s Yellowman. Diane Page, 2021 JMK Award winner returns to the venue to direct Aaron Anthony (Eugene) and Nadine Higgin (Alma). The production opens on 8 September, with previews from 5 September, and runs until 8 October, with audiences able to watch on demand thanks to the continuation of OT On Screen between 11-14 October.
Dael Orlandersmith’s
YELLOWMAN
Directed by Diane Page
An Orange Tree Theatre Production
Designer: Niall McKeever; Lighting Designer: Rajiv Pattani; Sound Designer: Esther Kehinde Ajayi; Casting Director: Sophie Parrott CDG
5 September – 8 October 2022
OT On Screen: 11 – 14 October
Alma and Eugene have grown up together. Alma, an African American woman, dreams of a life beyond the confines of their small town. But when her friendship with the light-skinned Eugene develops into something more serious, his fate becomes tragically intertwined with hers and they can’t escape the legacy of racism and the tensions within their own community.
Twenty years after it premièred and received a Pulitzer Prize nomination, Dael Orlandersmith‘s Yellowman, set in the 1960s Deep South, is a moving and deeply pertinent play for now.
Aaron Anthony plays Eugene. His theatre credits include Lose Yourself (Sherman Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Eastville Park Gardens), A View from the Bridge, Macbeth (Tobacco Factory Theatre), ‘Tis Unmanly Grief (Theatre N16), Twelfth Night (Royal Exchange Manchester), Human Emotional Process (Chaskis Theatre) and Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare’s Globe). For television, his credits include Emmerdale -as series regular Ellis Chapman, Behind Her Eyes, The Other One, Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators, Delicious and Hidden.
Nadine Higgin plays Alma. Her theatre credits include Legally Blonde (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and Savoy Theatre), A Winter’s Tale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night (Shakespeare’s Globe), Allelujah! (Bridge Theatre), The Lion King (Lyceum Theatre), The Book of Mormon (Prince of Wales Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (Kilworth House Theatre), Hairspray (Shaftesbury Theatre) and High School Musical (Hammersmith Apollo). For television, her credits include Doctors; and for film, Military Wives.
Dael Orlandersmith’s other plays include Stoop Stories, Black n’ Blue Boys/Broken Men, Horsedreams, Bones, The Blue Album, The Gimmick, Monster, and Forever. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Drama Desk Award nominee for Yellowman, winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for The Gimmick, and the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts grant, The Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights, a Guggenheim, along with several other awards and honours. Her play, Forever, was commissioned and performed at the Mark Taper Forum/Kirk Douglas Theatre in Autumn 2014, followed by performances at the Long Wharf Theatre Winter 2014/15, New York Theatre Workshop Spring 2015, and Portland Center Stage Winter 2016. Her play Until the Flood was performed at St Louis Repertory in the fall of 2016. She is currently working on two commissions for Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland and Milwaukee Repertory Theatre. Until the Flood was staged at Rattlestick Theater in 2018 and Milwaukee Rep. In 2019 it was performed at Portland Center Stage, ACT Seattle, the Arcola Theatre, The Galway Arts Festival at the Druid Theatre and at the Traverse at Edinburgh Festival, The Schaubruhner Theatre in Berlin and at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston SC.
Diane Page returns to the Orange Tree to direct – she was the 2021 JMK Award winner and directed Statements After An Arrest Under The Immorality Act for the company. Her other credits include Julius Caesar (Shakespeare’s Globe and Globe on Tour), Lost and Found (Royal Opera House), Out West (Co-director, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre).
Orange Tree Theatre
Listings
1 Clarence Street, Richmond, TW9 2SA
Box Office: 020 8940 3633 (Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm)
Ticket prices (NO BOOKING FEES)
In person tickets: £15, £26, £34, Under 30s: £15
OT On Screen: £15
Access: £15
ABOUT THE ORANGE TREE THEATRE
The Orange Tree (OT) is an award-winning, independent theatre. Recognised as a powerhouse that creates high-quality productions of new and rediscovered plays, it entertains 70,000 people across the UK every year. In 2022 it is celebrating its 50th Anniversary and through its 50th Anniversary Campaign is raising funds to support the next generation of theatre-makers and to produce rarely seen plays.
The OT’s home in Richmond, South West London, is an intimate theatre with the audience seated all around the stage: watching a performance here is truly a unique experience. We believe in the power of dramatic stories to entertain, thrill and challenge us; plays that enrich our lives by enhancing our understanding of ourselves and each other.
As a registered charity (266128) sitting at the heart of its community, we work with 10,000 people in Richmond and beyond through participatory theatre projects for people of all ages and abilities. The Orange Tree Theatre’s mission is to enable audiences to experience the next generation of theatre talent, experiment with ground-breaking new drama and explore the plays from the past that inspire the theatre-makers of the present.
Artistic Director Paul Miller
Executive Director Hanna Streeter
Website orangetreetheatre.co.uk | Email [email protected]
Twitter @OrangeTreeThtr | Facebook/Instagram OrangeTreeTheatre
SEASON AT A GLANCE
SEVEN CELEBRATIONS
29 – 31 July 2022
Additional activity running until 6 August
YELLOWMAN
5 September – 8 October 2022
Mon – Sat 7.30pm (8 Sep at 7pm)
Thu & Sat 2.30pm (from 10 Sep)
Captioned Performance: Mon 3 Oct 7.30pm
Audio Described Performance: Tue 27 Sep 7.30pm
Distanced Performances Tue 27 Sep 7:30pm Mon 3 Oct 7:30pm
Post Show Talk & Patrons’ Evening: Tue 20 Sep 7.30pm
OT On Screen: Tue 11 – Fri 14 Oct
THE SOLID LIFE OF SUGAR WATER
15 October – 12 November 2022
Mon – Sat 7.30pm (19 Oct at 7pm)
Thu & Sat 2.30pm (from 22 Oct)
Captioned Performance: Tue 8 Nov 7.30pm
Audio Described Performance: Tue 1 Nov 7.30pm
Distanced Performances: Tue 1 Nov 7:30pm Tue 8 Nov 7:30pm
Post Show Talk & Patrons’ Evening: Wed 26 Oct 7.30pm
OT On Screen: Tue 15 – Fri 18 Nov
ARMS AND THE MAN
19 November 2022 – 14 January 2023
Mon – Sat 7.30pm (23 Nov at 7pm)
Thu & Sat 2.30pm (from 26 Nov)
Captioned Performance: Wed 14 Dec 7.30pm
Audio Described Performance: Tue 13 Dec 7.30pm
Distanced Performances: Tue 13 Dec 7:30pm Wed 14 Dec 7:30pm
OT On Screen: Tue 17 – Fri 20 Jan
PINOCCHIO
14-31 December 2023
Mon & Wed & Fri, 11am& 2.30pm
Tue & Thu & Sat, 10am (no shows 25, 26, 27 Dec)
Relaxed Performance: Wed 21 Dec 2.30pm
Partially Distanced Performance: Wed 21 Dec 2.30pm
Ticket prices (NO BOOKING FEES): £12, £16
Floor cushions (on stage) £10
Babe in arms (children under 12 months) £1
TWO BILLION BEATS
20 January – 4 February 2023
Mon – Sat 7.30pm (24 Jan at 7pm)
Thu & Sat 2.30pm (from 26 Jan)
Captioned Performance: Fri 3 Feb 7.30pm
Audio Described Performance: Thu 2 Feb 7.30pm
Distanced Performances: Thu 2 Feb 7:30pm Fri 3 Feb 7:30pm
Post Show Talk & Patrons’ Evening: Tue 31 Jan 7.30pm
GRIM BRENDA
14 February – 18 March 2023
Mon – Sat 7.30pm (21 Feb at 7pm)
Thu & Sat 2.30pm (from 18 Feb)
Captioned Performance: Tue 14 Mar 7.30pm
Audio Described Performance: Mon 13 Mar 7.30pm
Distanced Performances: Mon 13 Mar 7:30pm Tue 14 Mar 7:30pm
Post Show Talk & Patrons’ Evening: Tue 28 Feb 7.30pm