debbie tucker green - readings

Presented by LIVE THEATRE in association with NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY

debbie tucker green - A celebration of her work

Sat 22 Nov, 3pm - NEEACA FREE Event
A discussion of her work, rare film screening of ear for eye followed by a delicious meal.
ear for eye is a complex masterpiece that scrutinises and dissects the lingering pain, damage and injustice of racism on black people's lives.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 'a blistering call to action' THE GUARDIAN

Tue 25 Nov 5:45pm - 6:45pm - debbie tucker green - our most important living playwright? - FREE panel discussion 
Before the reading of Dirty Butterfly join us for a panel discussion of debbie tucker green’s enduring cultural influence with special guests Lynette Goddard, (Professor of Black Theatre and Performance), Degna Stone (poet, editor, and winner of the 2015 Northern Writers Award) and May Sumbwanyambe (award winning playwright, radio dramatist and academic). Chaired by Professor Donna Chambers (Northumbria University).

Tue 25 Nov, 7pm - a reading of dirty butterfly
Read by BRYONY CORRIGAN (I Fought The Law/ I Daniel Blake), ERNEST KINGSLEY JUNIOR (The Sandman/Washington Black) & ROCHELLE ROSE (The Witcher/Boxing Day)
Listening through their thin walls, Amelia and Jason are drawn into the dark and compelling world of their mutual neighbour, Jo. Something very nasty is going on next door. Jason and Amelia know it, but do nothing.

Jason is increasingly addicted to eaves-dropping on Jo's abuse, meanwhile Amelia's frustration with Jo's predicament develops, as she tries to ignore the brutality on the other side of the wall.  

Painting a harrowing image of domestic violence in an intimate, yet so distant environment, dirty butterfly confronts the audience with themes of voyeurism, power and guilt through lives that interlock but never connect.

Wed 26 Nov, 7pm - a reading of trade 
Directed by JACK MCNAMARA
Read by GRACY GOLDMAN (Wednesday on Netflix), ROCHELLE ROSE (as above) & RACHEL SUMMERS (The Mousetrap)
Sex, money and power. For some women, financial freedom comes at a painful price. Worlds collide at an idyllic Caribbean resort as three very different women unravel the lies that bind them together in the name of fair trade. debbie tucker green’s darkly humorous play about the costs of sex.

Thu 27 Nov, 7pm - a reading of random
Read by DEJA J BOWENS (Champion on Netflix)
In 2008, the London media was inundated with stories of innocent Black teenagers who were randomly killed by accidentally straying into other people’s wars. debbie tucker green put pen to paper and humanised these stories into one moving portrayal of a family touched by such a tragedy in the hours between breakfast and lunch. 

One solo female performer embodies four different characters; a lazy father, a put-upon mother, a sister and brother, and a mischievous schoolboy who loves cheeking his elders and admiring himself. random finds laughs in cultural stereotypes and moves us to tears in the right way at the right times. 

random tells the story of a sister’s struggle with the sudden and tragic death of her brother. A vulnerable and brave portrait of loss, random speaks to the unjust epidemic of violence against young Black men and the families and communities left behind, in outraged grief, to mourn them.

Why is Live Theatre celebrating the work of debbie tucker green?
Read Jack McNamara's blog (Artistic DIrector of Live Theatre) via this link https://www.live.org.uk/blogs-resources/why-live-theatre-celebrating-work-debbie-tucker-green

'No playwright makes you sit up and listen like debbie tucker green’  THE GUARDIAN

For the last 20 years debbie tucker green has remained one of the most urgent and deeply original voices in contemporary theatre. Few artists have fused the personal and the political with such explosive, lyrical beauty. Live Theatre is honoured to offer audiences this rare opportunity to experience a range of her work up close and celebrate the immense cultural impact she has had.

debbie tucker green is a multi award winning writer - awards include: International Film Festival Rotterdam Big Screen Award for second coming, BAFTA nomination for Outstanding Debut and Sutherland Award Nomination; BAFTA for Best Single Drama for random; MVSA award for Best UK Film for random; Gold ARIAS radio award for lament; OBIE award for born bad (New York Soho Rep production); Olivier award for born bad (UK production).