What happens to the families of high profile men arrested for their abuse of power? That’s the question posed by new play Anomaly, which premieres at the Old Red Lion Theatre from 8 January to 2 February 2019. Time to book those tickets!
Written in a post-Weinstein, #MeToo era, Liv Warden‘s new play, staged by Wild Child Productions, explores sisterhood, reputation and loyalty.
It’s 6am. News has just broken that Phillip Preston, media mogul and film-industry powerhouse has been arrested for assaulting his wife. His three daughters, who lead separate lives, are left with the fallout. As they battle the world’s press, the board members of Preston International and each other, they soon find themselves not only fighting to save the Preston dynasty but to protect everything they know to be true.
Billed as a “war cry for the women who have been left to pick up the pieces,” Anomaly is not about the Weinstein’s of this world, but the women around them who are often forgotten in the hype of high profile trials.
Liv Warden is an actor and writer who first put pen to paper in 2016 as part of the Soho Writers Lab. Two influential London theatres helped her with the creation of Anomaly. She conceived the piece on the National Theatre playwriting course and finished while on the Arcola’s Introduction to Playwriting course.
Speaking about the play, she said:
“The main inspiration for me writing this play is how women deal with destruction. Watching the events of the Harvey Weinstein case unfold, I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen to his young family. How his two children would be treated at school when the name ‘Weinstein’ was read out, and how unfair it all is that the actions of one man, their father, will inevitably impact on their lives forever.
“So, I created my own Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Mel Gibson or Louis CK. Phillip Preston, a man in a position of immense power who we never see face up to his actions. Instead leaving it up to his three daughters to deal with the whirlwind of trauma that he has created over years of abuse, violence and manipulation.”
Anomaly is staged by Wild Child Productions, whose Artistic Director, Adam Small, directs the production. Small trained as an actor at RADA and Mountview, winning the Gyearbuor Asante Prize for Acting upon his graduation. He used the £1,000 grant which comes with the prize to found the company.
Who are Wild Child Productions?
Adam Small set up Wild Child Productions in 2017 using a grant he was awarded for winning the Gyearbuor Asante Prize for Acting. The company uses theatre and film to tell compelling, meaningful and imaginative stories to all generations. Previous productions include Silent., a piece of verbatim theatre in which actors performed the recorded recollections of World War I survivors as they were played to them through headphones, short film 10, about a woman who is able to spend 10 minutes with her partner who died two and a half years earlier, and children’s show Kensuke’s Kingdom.
