Bren Gosling’s new play is adapted from his award-winning novel The Street Sweeper and will play at the King’s Head Theatre from 22nd February.
Casting has been announced for Marlie Haco’s upcoming production of PROUD, playing at Islington’s King’s Head Theatre from next month. The production will see Taofique Folarin (The Lion King, Lyceum theatre; Norma Jean is Dead, Above the Stag; Safe, Hackney Empire), Andrei Maniata (The White Devil, Tristan Bates Theatre; Children of Killers, Orange Tree Theatre; [BLANK], National Theatre) and Kaine Hatukai (The Secret Love Life of Ophelia, Greenwich Theatre; The Wind in The Willows, Derby Theatre; Robin Hood, Liverpool Everyman) starring in the production.
After his Pentecostal mother dies, Roland is liberated to live openly as a gay man. He relocates from Brixton to E17, where he unexpectedly falls for Amir, a much younger refugee with a war-torn past. Their magnetic connection is tested, however, by Amir’s PTSD, his inability to identify as gay, and Roland’s strained relationship with his teenage son, Gary. What binds these three characters together is the desire to know and understand one another as they struggle to come to terms with their own identities.
Talking about the production, Director Marlie Haco said: “PROUD has been a long time in the making, but the play now feels more relevant than ever, providing a glimpse into the emotional lives of those oppressed by the forces of war, white supremacy, and homophobia. In directing PROUD, I hope to reveal boththe light and dark of the protagonists’ experience – the joy to be found in relationships, alongside the pain carried within. For me, this is a story of how the desire for connection can overcome the debilitating effects of our past and stir us to uncover hidden parts of the other.”
The creative team for PROUD also includes: set and costume design by Justin Nardella, composer and sound designer Ákos Lustyik, lighting design by Ben Jacobs, stage manager Martha Baldwin and associate producer Tom Woffenden.
PROUD will play at the King’s Head Theatre from the 22nd February until the 12th March.