The production is the first show to reopen The Hope Theatre from the 29th June.
Casting has been announced for Philip Wilson’s production of John Straiton’s The Boy With the Bee Jar, the first production to open at The Hope Theatre since theatres were closed last March.
It has been confirmed that Colin Hurley will play ‘Euston’ opposite George Rowlands, a 2021 graduate of Rose Bruford College, making his professional debut as ‘The Boy’ in this production.
Colin Hurley has appeared in theatre productions all over the world, including in the West End and on Broadway, and with the Royal Shakespeare Company and at the National Theatre. He is a regular performer at Shakespeare’s Globe, and has appeared in many of the plays of William Shakespeare.
George Rowlands is graduating from Rose Bruford College in July. Whilst training, his theatre credits have included: Andrey (Three Sisters), Husband (The Good Soul of Szechuan) and Brutus in Julius Caesar, directed by Zoë Waites.
On a North London estate, a swarm of bees attracts an environmentally minded schoolboy who feels lost now that his father’s no longer around. In the estate’s playground, he is drawn to an old anarcho-punk called Euston, who is the sole witness to a horrific crime. As the city and its residents tear one another apart, these two misfits form an unexpected alliance, as they realise that each holds the key to the other’s salvation. “I don’t want to celebrate this. This thing we share. This lacking. This shame. This inability to do the right thing that should come easy as waking.” “Easy as sleep.”
Written by John Straiton, The Boy With the Bee Jar was long-listed for the 2019 Bruntwood Prize. The creative team for this production includes set design by Philip Wilson, lighting design by Holly Ellis and sound design Raffaela Pancucci.
The Boy With the Bee Jar will play at The Hope Theatre from the 29th June until the 17th July.