Jack Sandle

Germany, 1944. Leyna, the 15-year old daughter of a white German mother and a black African father, meets Lutz, a compassionate member of the Hitler Youth whose father is a prominent Nazi soldier, and they form an unlikely connection in this quickly changing world.

Based on Michael Morpurgo's novel and adapted for the stage by Nick Stafford, War Horse takes audiences on an extraordinary journey from the fields of rural Devon to the trenches of First World War France. War Horse received its world premiere on October 9, 2007 at the National Theatre in London, UK where it played for two seasons before opening at the New London Theatre in London, UK in March 2009, and was later made into a 2011 movie. Since then, the stage play has been seen in over 100 cities in 15 countries, including productions on Broadway, in Toronto, Berlin, and Australia, with touring productions in the UK and Ireland, North America, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

Having inherited her father’s farm, a spirited and feisty young woman – Bathsheba Everdene, finds herself playing mistress in a man’s world. She is pursued by three would-be lovers: the constant shepherd, Gabriel Oak; the obsessive landowner, William Boldwood and the reckless Sergeant Troy. But are any of them a match for the wilful Bathsheba? Based upon one of Hardy’s most popular and enduring novels, Far from the Madding Crowd takes us on a theatrical journey through Hardy country, following a passionate young girl propelled into womanhood by her experiences of love and loss.

Vianne, a feisty – almost 70yo has received a terminal cancer diagnosis. Her oldest child Connie, a detached and somewhat hard-headed individual decides to be her mother’s sole carer. The two younger children, Quinn and Amal, both come to keep vigil as Vianne’s passing looms. Each child has a different way of grieving. For Connie, denial and pragmatism allow her to hold grief at arms length. Quinn, a single gay father to Lachie is more of a quiet observer – who possesses an emotional maturity and innate ability to hold space for his mother. Spirited and passionate Amal, adopted from Sri Lanka as a baby, has feelings of abandonment which suddenly begin to intermingle with the imminent loss, while his devoted partner Maddie, does everything in her power to support him. As Vianne tackles her impending death with humour and humility, the onus falls on each child to face the inevitable and choose presence and peace, or letting this milestone moment pass them by.