PHIL DAVIES’ FIREBIRD
TO RECEIVE FIRST REVIVAL AT
SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE BOROUGH
Double Telling, the team behind the multi-award-winning London premiere of Run Sister Run,today announces the first revival of Firebird by Phil Davies.Directed by Double Telling’s Artistic Director Marlie Haco, the play returns to the London stage following its premiere in 2015.
A powerful exploration of an ongoing national scandal, Firebird opens at Southwark Playhouse Borough on 15 July, with previews from 9 July, and runs until 1August.
Playwright, Phil Davies said today, “I’m excited by the vision that Marlie has for this production and can’t wait to see it realised. When I wrote Firebird, I hoped its subject matter would quickly become obsolete. The sad fact is that, ten years on, it’s arguably even more urgent an issue than ever.”
Double Telling’s Artistic Director Marlie Haco added, “Firebird confronts unthinkable realities with extraordinary compassion. Over a decade on from its first production, the play’s exploration of grooming and exploitation is unfortunately more relevant than ever. To counter that, I intend to direct this revival as a celebration of the redemptive power of female friendship in the face of male violence. Above all, I would love the production to offer a sense of recognition – and hope – to the survivors it seeks to represent. I feel incredibly lucky to be bringing such an accomplished and important drama back to the stage.”
For this production, Double Telling is consulting with journalist Anna Hall (maker of 2025 documentary Groomed: A National Scandal) and partnering with charities including One in Four, Lasting Support, and Together (Southwark Wellbeing Hub) to raise awareness and forge connections with survivors of child sexual exploitation (CSE).
Double Telling Presents
FIREBIRD
By Phil Davies
Director: Marlie Haco; Set Design: Tomás Palmer; Costume Design: Sarah Mercadé;
Composer & Sound Design: Ákos Lustyik;Lighting Design: Ben Jacobs;
Casting Directors: Gabriella Shimeld-Fenn and Annelie Powell
9 July – 1 August 2026
“You’ve got these twinkling eyes, all bright and dancey… They will love taking that from you.”
When two teenage girls meet at a local youth centre, an unexpected friendship begins to take shape. But as one of them is drawn into the orbit of an older man, their bond is tested in ways neither of them could have imagined.
Funny and tender, Phil Davies’ “remarkably potent” drama (The Times) exposes the devastating realities of grooming gangs with “rare eloquence” (Londonist) and asks what it takes to be believed.
Marlie Haco’s unflinching revival combines Davies’ scorching text with movement and an original score to shine a light on an ongoing national scandal.
This production reunites OFFIE nominees Marlie Haco (Director) and Tomás Palmer (Set Design), with Oliver Award-winner Ben Jacobs (Lighting Design), to offer a fresh lens on Phil Davies’ “blisteringly intense” (The Stage) debut drama.
Phil Davies is a playwright and screenwriter.His debut play Firebird premiered at the Hampstead Theatre Downstairs in 2015 and then transferred to Trafalgar Studios. His other plays include Landmines, How to Not Murder, Up the Dale, Come to Where I’m From, Adjusted and The Makings. His screenwriting credits include Rockets, Dolly Making Soap with a Serial Killer, Best Before, The Few and The Loss Adjusters; and for radio, The B Towns: The Punjab.
Marlie Haco is a theatre director and dramaturg. Her directing credits include the award-winning Run Sister Run (Arcola Theatre), Proud (Kings Head Theatre), Knife on The Table (The Cockpit Theatre), Good Day (VAULT Festival), Vengeance (Pleasance Theatre), Lovesick (Hope Theatre), Words Without Consent (Brighton Fringe, Southwark Playhouse Borough) and Chinese Boxing (Playground Theatre, Norwich Fringe). As Assistant Director, her credits include Mary, Anthropology (Hampstead Theatre) and Coram Boy (Chichester Festival Theatre, The Lowry). Haco trained on the National Theatre Directors Course in 2025 and was Resident Director at Hampstead Theatre 2022-2023. She is also a reader for Soho Theatre, as well as for playwriting prizes including the Bruntwood and the Verity Bargate Award.
FIREBIRD
Listings
Southwark Playhouse Borough
77-85 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD
Box Office: 020 7407 0234/ boxoffice@southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
Book now: https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/ productions/firebird
Find out more: https://www.doubletelling.com/work/firebird
How To Get To Borough Venue: The nearest stations are Elephant & Castle and Borough
FIREBIRD
9 July – 1 August 2026
Press Night: Wednesday 15 July at 7.30pm
Monday – Saturday: 7.30pm
Tuesday and Saturday Matinees: 3pm
Ticket Prices: Standard £28 | Concessions £22.50 | Previews £16 | Pioneers’ Preview (9 July) £10
Age Guidance: 16+
DOUBLE TELLING
Double Telling is a theatre company led by director & dramaturg Marlie Haco and producer Toby Mather. They create precise, impactful productions of contemporary plays that ask urgent social and psychological questions. Their bold, experimental work integrates multiple forms of storytelling to move, thrill, and engage audiences in provocative ways.
“Director Marlie Haco’s new production is fast-paced and impactful… electrifying, yet tender”
– The Stage (Run Sister Run, Arcola Theatre)
“Slick and highly entertaining…remarkably high production values”
– The Guardian (Good Day, VAULT Festival)
Twitter/ Instagram: @DoubleTelling @MarlieHC
SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE
Southwark Playhouse is a registered charity that delivers a year-round programme of entertaining and enriching work. Southwark Playhouse operates two separate venues ‘Southwark Playhouse Borough’ and its newest theatre ‘Southwark Playhouse Elephant’ which opened in January 2023. Southwark Playhouse has always prided itself in telling stories and inspiring the next generation of storytellers and theatre makers, where support for the community has been rooted at the core of the organisation.
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