CASSIE AND THE LIGHTS Comes To Southwark Playhouse Borough

Cassie and the Lights comes to Southwark Playhouse Borough this spring. Following critically acclaimed runs in New York and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, this enchanting play created and directed by Alex Howarth features live music and is based on real-life events and interviews with children in care. Full casting is to be announced.

Cassie and the Lights opens at Southwark Playhouse Borough, in the Little Auditorium, on 5 April, with previews from 3 April and runs until 20 April 2024.

Original Scenic Design: Alex Howarth; Set and Costume Design: Ruth Badila; Composers: Imogen Mason and Ellie Mason

When Cassie's mother disappears, the teenager wants to care for her sisters on her own. Is she the right person to be a parent now, or should she let foster parents adopt her sisters and create a new family?

Based on real-life events and interviews with children in care and featuring live music, this play celebrates the resilience of teenagers. Cassie and the Lights is a tender and playful examination of what makes a family and what holds it together.

Alex Howarth is a writer, director and designer. He was named one of 'Ten Stage Sensations to Watch Out For in 2023' by The Guardian.  With a background of working in care, Alex is passionate about amplifying under-represented and northern voices. His play Cassie and the Lights is based on a true story and interviews with children in the care system. Nominated for the BBC Writer's Room Popcorn Award and the SitUp Award for social change, it ran at 59E59 Theaters, Off Broadway New York in 2023. A former drama therapist for the charity Sense, he has worked extensively with disabled artists, and recently co-created one man show Strictly Lawrie with disabled artist Lawrie Morris. His play about a girl with autism, We Live By the Sea, received Critic's Pick and Top Theatre of the Year in The New York Times, won the Best Theatre Award and the Critic's Choice Award at Adelaide Festival, the Grahame F. Smith Peace Foundation Award for promoting human rights through theatre, and was nominated for a Fringe First and the Off West End Awards for Best Production and Best Ensemble. He was the assistant director on La Traviata at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and regularly directs at drama schools including Italia Conti, Central School of Speech and Drama, Mountview Theatre School, and Chichester Conservatoire. He adapted and directed the world stage premiere of What's Eating Gilbert Grape, alongside the film's writer and director, Oscar nominee Peter Hedges. He is the Artistic Director of multi-award winning Patch of Blue, who create original theatre pieces with live music for festivals and touring.

Ruth Badila is a set and costume designer. She has worked as an associate assistant designer at the Kiln Theatre, and recently completed a year's residency as Assistant Designer at The National Theatre. Ruth is a previous recipient of the Linbury Prize 2021.

Imogen Mason and Ellie Mason are musicians, producers, and composers. They have worked extensively with Patch of Blue and have scored many plays for them including We Live By The Sea (59E59 Theaters, Arts Theatre West End, and tour), Back To Blackbrick (Arts Theatre West End and tour), and The Tortoise and the Hare (UK tour). Imogen and Ellie are two members of the band Voka Gentle.

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