Hampstead Theatre Announces Casting For THE MEMORY OF WATER

Hampstead Theatre has announced the cast for Shelagh Stephenson's Olivier Award-winning play The Memory of Water. Lucy Black, Kulvinder Ghir, Adam James, Lizzy McInnerny, Carolina Main and Laura Rogers will perform in this poignant and painfully funny comedy about conflicting memories, life and loss, which received its world premiere at the theatre in 1996. Directed by Alice Hamilton, the new production will run from 3 September until 16 October 2021. Hamilton returns to Hampstead Theatre after her recent 60th anniversary production of The Dumb Waiter and the Olivier-nominated Every Day I Make Greatness Happen and Paradise.

The theatre has also announced the cast for the world premiere of Mufaro Makubika's new play Malindadzimu. Shyko Amos, Kudzai Mangombe, Sifiso Mazibuko, Tendai Humphrey Sitima and Natasha Williams will perform in this delicate, witty and epic new play, which explores a mother and daughter's search for belonging and their struggle with a multicultural heritage. Malindadzimu will run from 17 September until 30 October 2021 at Hampstead Downstairs, directed by Monique Touko, who will be making her professional directing debut.

Alice Hamilton, director of The Memory of Water, said:

I am so pleased to be back at Hampstead Theatre and directing The Memory of Water with this group of brilliant actors. Shelagh Stephenson's Olivier Award-winning play is a modern classic, rich with fabulous characters and a deep vein of humour. The past year has placed family at the forefront of our minds, and I can't wait to share this warm-hearted riot of sibling rivalry with live audiences.

Monique Touko, director of Malindadzimu, said:

I am delighted to be making my professional debut at Hampstead Theatre with Mufaro's new play. Having the opportunity to depict Bulawayo, my mother's birthplace, feels extremely fitting and timely in my development.

I love Mufaro's coming of age tale, centred on a relationship between a mother and daughter, caught between Nottingham and Zimbabwe. I can't wait to get to work on Malindadzimu with this wonderful group of actors and create a world that is rooted in history and speaks for now.

The Memory of Water makes a highly anticipated return to Hampstead Theatre twenty-five years after its World Premiere in 1996. Winner of the Olivier Award for Best Comedy, Shelagh Stephenson's poignant and painfully funny comedy is about conflicting memories, life and loss. Following West End and New York transfers, Stephenson also adapted The Memory of Water into a film, Before You Go (2002), directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Julie Walters, John Hannah, Joanne Whalley and Victoria Hamilton.

Box Office: 020 7722 9301 (Mon - Sat 10.30am - 7pm) | hampsteadtheatre.com

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