After creating the “absorbing and provocative” Version 2.0 and the “eminently lovable” Letters, Kashyap Raja returns to London with his new play Earth – A Children’s Story for Adults at London’s Bridewell Theatre from 31 January to 4 February 2023 (press night is 1 February 2023).
In this new piece, featuring performances from Vanessa Toral Diaz and Tim Atkinson, Raja creates a mesmerising and transcendent world in which Earth takes a human form and tells the story of a boy, Drop.
Drop, a little boy, dreams of becoming an astronaut. Every night he looks at the sky and wonders about the existence of stars and planets. Earth takes a human form and quenches his curiosity by narrating stories about the Sun, the moon and the little stars shining in the sky.
They begin to form a transcendent bond, but a natural calamity wrecks their lives and compels Drop to begin a voyage to an alternate planet. Earth warns him that no one in the Universe will accept humans and their only hope is to save Earth. Bewildered by the challenges of finding a new world and confused by the existential crisis of nature, Drop finally asks Earth: why does she only talk to him?
“Letters is a necessary watch as a means of exploring the building of a bond” – Theatre Full Stop on Letters
Earth – A Children’s Story for Adults is reminiscent of the mystical and curious connection we have with nature as a child and why it’s important to nurture this connection as we grow up. Hence, a children’s story for adults.
Also in the creative team are Carey Chomsoonthorn (lighting) and Meghan Bartual Smyth and Charlie Heptinstall (stage management). The staging is presented by Fourth Wall Productions.
Only, could you remove Monika’s name as stage designer and instead put – Stage Management by Meghan Bartual Smyth and Charlie Heptinstall.
Bios
Kashyap Raja is an Indian playwright who has been writing, directing and producing plays in London for the past five years, including at the Edinburgh and Camden Fringe festivals. In 2018, his play Version 2.0 was performed in the Leicester Square Theatre. His last play Letters was performed at the Network Theatre and then made its return at the Brockley Jack Studio Theatre.
Vanessa Toral Diaz is trained in the Meissner and Chubbuck techniques and has taken part in micro-theatre pieces like an adaptation of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane and has also collaborated in short films like Catch Much Match and Roots. Her most recent work in theatre was in the critically acclaimed new play Shards, that was part of the Camden Fringe Festival in 2019.
Tim Atkinson is currently employed as an actor-interpreter by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and is currently on a tour of Macbeth with them. He regularly performs in theatre, has done numerous short films and has recently completed a feature film called Clay’s Redemption.
