Shannon Hayes News

When Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in 1998, anyone could scarcely have known or even surmised the impact his life would have on people the world over and today, almost 23 years after the fact, his presence on this earth continues to be felt in ways both momentous and personal.

30 years after former flames Jason and Alex last saw one another, the pair reunite at Jason’s old student house – each bringing different past life experiences to the encounter. Played by Bo Paraj and Claire Price, the duo flirt, somewhat reigniting their passion and they both attempt to rediscover what their relationship meant to them then, and now. Deborah Bruce’s play, directed by Hampstead Theatre Artistic Director Roxana Silbert, explores carefree university adventure through the lens of people who now should know better.

Hampstead Theatre has announced its first live productions for 2021.  Alfred Fagon's darkly compelling, The Death of a Black Man will run from 28 May until 10 July having originally premiered at the theatre in 1975.  46 years on, this rare revival from the Black British playwriting canon, raises many of the same questions we face today surrounding identity, capitalism and sexual politics. 

How do you see yourself? What seems like a fairly straightforward question can actually be far more complex than you might think a?" and if your own lived experience deviates even slightly from what other people expect, you may find yourself repeatedly fielding the same queries as both sides seek to justify their positions. In Janice Okoh's new play, The Gift, Princess Sarah Bonetta tries to balance her new role as wife with her passion for teaching, whilst modern-day structural engineer Sarah fends off a try-hard neighbour. Tea with Queen Victoria could be exactly what they both needa??

Eclipse Theatre and the Belgrade Theatre Coventry today announce full casting for their upcoming co-production of Janice Okoh's The Gift, the third show to emerge from Eclipse's groundbreaking Revolution Mix movement, which is spearheading the largest ever delivery of new Black British stories in theatre, film and radio. The Gift will premiere in Coventry from 18-25 January before embarking on a UK tour.

Conspiracy sees our three intrepid investigators set off to prove that one photograph holds the key to just about every conspiracy theory you ever heard!

Barrel Organ return to New Diorama Theatre on 10 September with the London premiere of their Untapped Award-winning Conspiracy fresh from a sold-out run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

A powder keg of stupefaction and anxiety. Three people - Rose Wardlaw, Azan Ahmed and Shannon Hayes - explore their conspiracy theories around the famous 1932 photo of 11 builders precariously eating their lunch atop the Rockefeller Centre.