Chris Bush’s ORLANDO (FL) To Have Workshop at The Hermitage

The Hermitage Artist Retreat has announced that, in collaboration with The National Theatre New Work Department, it will present a London workshop of Orlando (FL), a newly commissioned play by Olivier Award winner Chris Bush, the 2024 recipient of the Hermitage Major Theater Award (HMTA).

This invitation-only presentation marks the first-ever London workshop produced by the Hermitage and will be directed by Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg (Operation Epsilon).

Cast and Creative Team

The workshop features an acclaimed ensemble including Fisayo Akinade (The Crucible, Heartstopper), Olivier Award winner Matthew Kelly (Stars in Their Eyes, Game for a Laugh), Lesley Lemon (Rare Earth Mettle), Serena Manteghi (The Diplomat, The Hound of the Baskervilles), Fizz Sinclair (Other Land, The Simple Life & Death, Modest), Cherrelle Skeete (Alterations, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Eleanor Sutton (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Jane Eyre, Amadeus), Olivier Award nominee Laura Pitt-Pulford (Standing at the Sky’s Edge, Sunset Boulevard), and EM Williams (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin).

About the Project

Orlando (FL) is described as “a story of transformation, translation, and resistance,” continuing Bush’s tradition of creating socially resonant, imaginative theatre. The new work is the latest commission from the Hermitage Major Theater Award, a distinguished honor given annually to a playwright creating innovative and impactful new writing for the stage.

Chris Bush was selected as the fourth recipient of the HMTA by a jury including Michael Grandage, Tessa Ross, and Indhu Rubasingham. The commission for Orlando (FL) has come to fruition less than two years after Bush received the award.

About Chris Bush

Chris Bush is an Olivier Award-winning playwright, lyricist, and theater maker whose celebrated works include Standing at the Sky’s Edge, winner of the Olivier Award and UK Theatre Award for Best Musical. Following sold-out runs at Sheffield Theatres and The National Theatre, the production transferred to the West End, where The Times hailed it as “magnificent and meaningful.” Bush’s most recent play, Other Land, premiered at the Almeida Theatre earlier this year. Raised in Sheffield, she currently resides in London.

About Andy Sandberg

Andy Sandberg, Artistic Director and CEO of the Hermitage Artist Retreat, is a Tony Award-winning producer, director, and writer whose work has been seen in New York, London, and across the U.S. His directing credits include the U.K. premieres of Alan Brody’s Operation Epsilon (Southwark Playhouse) and Jeannette Bayardelle’s Shida (The Vaults), earning multiple Off West End Award nominations including Best Director. His Off-Broadway work includes Straight (NY Times Critics’ Pick), Application Pending, and Craving for Travel, among others.