The Grammy, Emmy & Tony Award winner will make his London debut as director this summer.
It has been announced that Billy Porter will direct the play by Harrison David Rivers for the Soho Theatre, where it will run from the 18th June until the 26th July.
With press night taking place on the 24th June, the production is set to star Omari Douglas (C4’s It’s a Sin – BAFTA nomination, Constellations alongside Russell Tovey in the West End – Olivier Award Best Actor nomination and Cliff in original West End cast of Cabaret at the KitKat Club) as ‘Jesse’ and Alexander Lincoln (cult gay rugby movie In From the Side – Best Actor winner & Best Breakthrough Performance nomination, Jamie Tate in over 300 episodes of Emmerdale, Everything I Know About Love, BBC1) as ‘Neil’.
Meanwhile, Stanton Plummer-Cambridge (F**king Men, Waterloo East, The Durrells, ITV and Black Earth Rising, BBC) and Luke Striffler (UK tours of Hairspray & Avenue Q, Eastenders, BBC1) are understudies ‘Jesse’ and ‘Neil’.
A deep love is challenged by divisive political realities. Jesse, an introspective Black playwright, finds his choices challenged when his boyfriend, Neil, a white Black Lives Matter activist, calls him out for his political apathy. As passions and priorities collide, this couple is forced to reckon with issues of race, class and the bravery it takes to love out loud.
Talking about the news, Billy Porter said: “Harrison David Rivers has written a searingly poignant and necessary play about love and loss through the lens of the fraying American Democratic experiment. Simple. Complex. Direct and filled with compassion all at once. I’m thrilled to be a part of bringing this very special piece to life.”
Meanwhile, the creative team also includes: set and costume design by Morgan Large, original composition by Sean Green, sound design by Julian Starr, casting by Rob Kelly, production management by Toby Darvill, with Elsie O’Rourke as Company Stage Manager, Jordan Deegan-Fleet as Deputy Stage Manager.
It is produced by Thomas Hopkins Jana Robbins, Craig Haffner & Sherry Wright.
Alex Deacon, Jonathan Kaldor & Kohl Beck in association with John Rogerson and Sarig Peker.
To book tickets visit: https://sohotheatre.com/events/this-bitter-earth/