Sam Robards and Tracie Bennett to Join Kate Burton in ANOTHER FCKNG BLUE ZONE Reading
The reading is set for Friday, 27 March 2026 at 2PM at Jerwood Space.
Kate Burton, Sam Robards, and 2026 Olivier Award nominee Tracie Bennett will lead the London industry presentation of Another Fckng Blue Zone, a new comedy written and directed by James Andrew Walsh, on Friday, 27 March 2026 at 2PM at Jerwood Space.
Burton, whose Tony Award–nominated theatre credits include Hedda Gabler, The Elephant Man, and The Constant Wife, alongside Emmy-nominated television performances in Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, will appear with Robards (American Beauty, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Fandango), whose Tony Award–nominated stage work includes productions with Roundabout Theatre Company and Manhattan Theatre Club.
They are joined by two-time Olivier Award winner and 2026 Olivier Award nominee Tracie Bennett, celebrated for her Olivier-winning performance in End of the Rainbow and widely acclaimed for her work in London’s West End (Follies, Hairspray) and in Walsh’s 2022 film The Extinction of Fireflies. Also appearing is Hughie O’Donnell, currently in Seven Dials on Netflix, and on stage in the 2026 Olivier Award–nominated production of Into the Woods at London’s Bridge Theatre.
Set in an unfinished tropical dream home in Costa Rica, Another Fckng Blue Zone follows an expatriate couple played by Burton and Robards, who relocate in search of longevity, reinvention, and a second act. Instead, paradise becomes a pressure cooker. Marital tensions rise, neighbors circle, and a mysterious death unsettles the illusion of escape.
Blending sharp comedy with emotional reckoning, the play skewers the modern obsession with so-called “blue zones” — the mythologized places believed to hold the secret to longer, happier lives — while exposing the fragile fantasies of life everlasting beneath self-optimization culture and expatriate escapism.
Writer-director James Andrew Walsh says, “Another Fckng Blue Zone explores our obsession with reinvention — and the illusion that somewhere out there is a cleaner, healthier, happier version of ourselves. But paradise has plumbing problems — Eden, it turns out, comes with stinky loos.”
The London reading marks a key development step as producers explore full productions in London and New York City in 2027.
Another Fckng Blue Zone is presented by Thank You Five Entertainment, LLC. Producers are Laura Ward Collins and Julie Arbagey Garnyé (Paddington: The Musical). Production design is by Leslie Travers (Royal Shakespeare Company; National Theatre).
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