Following a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019, Stephanie Greenwood’s autobiographical one-woman show It’s Beautiful, Over There will receive a London run at the Tristan Bates Theatre in February. Book your tickets now!
The debut show from Very Rascals Productions runs at the Camden venue from 11-15 February 2020.
Steph has stories to tell you. She wants to tell you about her birthday, her heroic grandmother and how her ukulele playing is coming along. She definitely does not want to tell you how it feels to lose a friend. She could if she wanted to, it’s not that she can’t, it’s just that … well, you don’t want to hear that anyway, do you?
It’s Beautiful, Over There takes a close look at the hard work of telling the stories that matter the most.
In 2009, writer and performer Greenwood met Edinburgh native Lindsay Riddoch at boarding school in Wales. They became friends and confidants. Nine years later, despite having taken extraordinary measures to confront her illness, Lindsay took her own life. In It’s Beautiful, Over There, Stephanie tells her story of dealing – or not dealing – with that grief. Lindsay’s poetry has a prominent place in the piece.
It’s Beautiful, Over There is presented in cooperation with Words That Carry On, a charitable fund established by Lindsay’s family and friends to raise funds for vital research on personality disorders, autism and complex mental health needs. She was an ardent advocate for better mental health services who was intent on ensuring people who lived with mental health problems had their voices heard. The mental health issues she struggled with during a life in which she launched an online platform for young people with mental health problems to share experiences, achieved a first in her degree, and worked with MPs Caroline Lucas and Zac Goldsmith, were never fully diagnosed.
The show is also supporting Papyrus, a national charity dedicated to the prevention of young suicide, which is still the biggest killer of people younger than 35 in the UK.
During the run at the Tristan Bates Theatre, the company is inviting school groups to the production and will be conducting workshops with sixth formers.
Greenwood, who both wrote and stars in It’s Beautiful, Over There, makes her return to the London stage. She previously appeared in Jonathan Guy Lewis‘ Soldier On, which explored the life of the UK military community using a cast of professional actors and ex-military personnel. She’s directed in the production by John-Michael MacDonald, a LISPA graduate whose previous shows include The Nightmare Dreamer (Mead Theatre Lab, Washington) and The Son of Heaven, The Servant of God and The Map of the World (Blue Elephant Theatre).
The production is the first staged by Very Rascals, a new company set up by Greenwood & Company Director Charlotte Keith to produce fearless new writing by women and shine a spotlight on a range of social issues focused on communication.
Tristan Bates Theatre at The Actors Centre has a packed spring of shows. In addition to It’s Beautiful, Over There, is hosts productions including drama exploring the effects of fighting in Operation Desert Storm, Syndrome, hate speech examination Sticks and Stones and underworld drama Time.
Production images from the Edinburgh run of It’s Beautiful, Over There
