Sheffield Theatres announces, as part of its 50th anniversary year, the cast of Human Nurture: a co-production with Theatre Centre, running in the Studio theatre from Wednesday 26 January – Saturday 12 February 2022 and in local Sheffield schools as part of a wider outreach project, led by director Rob Watt and Theatre Centre. Lucas Button (Run Sister Run) and Justice Ritchie (Dungeons and Dragons) will play the two leading roles, with Neeta Sarl (Love Reign) as the DJ.

‘I don’t agree with everything they say, but we do have a lot in common nowadays; anyway, I can’t be racist my best friend is Black.’

Roger and Harry’s bond is so strong they could be brothers. They share the same food, music, laughs, computer games and even dreams - but not race. Roger is black and Harry is white...but what does that matter, right?

When Roger is rehomed, Harry is left behind in the care system, and these brothers start to walk down very different paths. When Roger returns to celebrate Harry’s birthday, his new name Runaku isn’t the only change.

Lucas Button returns to Sheffield Theatres after his role in Run Sister Run in the Studio in 2020. Justice Ritchie and Neeta Sarl both make their debuts at Sheffield Theatres.

Human Nurture is written by Ryan Calais Cameron and directed by Rob Watt. To celebrate the intimate and versatile Studio Theatre’s 50th anniversary, Sheffield Theatres continues its commitment to new writing and compelling voices: Human Nurture will be a flagship schools project and will play a mixture of dates in both the Studio Theatre and local Sheffield schools, including High Storrs, Parkside School, King Ecgbert School, Handsworth Grange Community College and Newfield School during its run.

Robert Hastie, Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, said:
“Opening the Studio season is Human Nurture by Ryan Calais Cameron, the brilliant writer deservedly named recently by The Stage in their list of 25 artists who will shape our theatre’s future. His moving new play explores the impact of racial injustice on two young men brought up as brothers. We’re delighted to be working with Rob Watt and the team at Theatre Centre on a project that spends half of each week performing in local schools and half in our Studio.”

Human Nurture runs in the Studio theatre from Wednesday 26 January – Saturday 12 February 2022. Tickets are on sale and available to book now through the Box Office in person, over the phone on 0114 249 6000 or at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk.

Biographies

Cast
Lucas Button
For Sheffield Theatres, credits include: Run Sister Run (Paines Plough/Soho Theatre)
Other theatre credits include: The Butterfly Lion (Chichester Festival Theatre); Kes (Leeds Playhouse); War Horse (National Theatre/2017-18 Tour); The Winter's Tale (English National Opera/Coliseum); Pinocchio and A Tender Thing (The Duke's Theatre); Alan, We Think You Should Get a Dog (New Diorama Theatre); Coram Boy, Ivanov and Romeo and Juliet (RCSSD); This is Not a Drill (Tristan Bates Theatre) and Five, Four, None (The Roundhouse). Television credits include: Masters of the Air (Playtone/Amblin), The Witcher: Blood Origins (Netflix) and Worzel Gummidge (BBC/Leopard Pictures).

Justice Ritchie
Justice graduated this year from Guildhall School of Music & Drama. He recently filmed a small role in the upcoming Paramount film, Dungeons and Dragons, following which he won The BBC Carleton Hobbs Bursary Award.

Neeta Sarl
A wildly innovative and versatile artist, Neeta is an electronic musician, vocalist and producer. You'll find her straddling all kinds of boundaries – whether that's between genres (like Indian fusion and electronica, trip-hop and cinematic, ambient and RnB); or the relationship between new technology and live performance. A classically trained pianist, Neeta grew up on a diet of Indian classical, bollywood and RnB before discovering a deep passion for songwriting and electronic music. This melting pot of influences can be heard sprinkled across her music. Comfortable both on stage and in the studio, her unique live performances are a soulful experience of looping and multi-tasking between an elaborate set-up of synthesizers, drum pads, midi controllers, and haunting vocals.

Her schedule sees her creating sample packs for Ampify one day, to writing theme tunes for BBC the following day, to unveiling interactive AI music software at the Science Museum the next. Most recently, Neeta can be found working as a composer, musical director, band leader and performer for theatre. Her work includes leading a 3-piece soulful house band for the sold out show Love Reign at The Young Vic, and songwriting/performing for the eco themed one-woman musical How To Save The Planet When You're A Young Carer And Broke at Roundhouse.

Neeta's debut solo album, released earlier this year – Beat Tape Vol 1 – is scattered with unique sounds and synths she created out of everyday objects, like stones, twigs, kettles and airvents.

Creative Team
Ryan Calais Cameron (Writer) is a writer for theatre and television. His credits include For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy (Nouveau Riche/Boundless Theatre/New Diorama 2021); Typical, (Nouveau Riche, which starred Richard Blackwood. Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Soho Theatre Upstairs 2020); Queens Of Sheba, (Nouveau Riche, co-written with Jessica Hagan, which won the 2018 Edinburgh Untapped Award. Edinburgh Fringe/New Diorama Theatre/London and national tour 2019). Ryan was the winner of the 2018 Off West End ‘Adopt A Playwright Award’ for his play Rhapsody, which was produced at the Arcola in March of that year. Retrograde, which he wrote on his year of ‘adoption’, was shortlisted for the 2019 Alfred Fagon Award and Verity Bargate Award 2020. Ryan is an alumnus of the Royal Court writer’s programme 2017 and the Soho Young Company 2016/17. He is currently under commission to the Royal Court, the Arcola, Soho Theatre and Theatre Centre as well as commissions for television.

Rob Watt (Director) is a critically acclaimed director, dramaturg and facilitator. He collaborates with writers, young people, communities, poets, and designers to make sense of the fractured world we inhabit. Rob works with young people to support them to tell stories, liberating their ideas, and creating resonant and risk-taking work. He started his career working on Hackney estates, taking theatre to the doorsteps of communities in East London. He is currently the Artistic Director for Theatre Centre, regularly teaches at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and works with the Institute of the Arts Barcelona. He previously was an Associate for Headlong Theatre, headed up the young people's team at the National Theatre, was a Lead Artist at Lyric Hammersmith, an Artist Mentor at the Barbican and Associate Director at Immediate Theatre. He is currently chair of Savvy Theatre's board. "Theatre, at its best, is a dialogue; it's democratic, it's shapeshifting and powerful. It uncovers and dissects the crunchy, oblique and often difficult situations that are happening in our world. It should not just talk about the world, but try to save it."

His selected credits include Birds and Bees by Charlie Josephine (Theatre Centre); Acts of Resistance by Stef Smith (Headlong Theatre & Bristol Old Vic); Rallying Cry by Apples and Snakes (Battersea Arts Centre, BBC Contains Strong Words Festival Hull, Brighton Fringe); It's Not Too Late to Save the World (and Other Lies) devised by the company (Lyric Hammersmith); Operation Ghost Raven by Rob Watt (The Department & MSC Grandiosa); The Exorcism by Ross Sutherland (Battersea Arts Centre); How to Survive a Post Truth Apocalypse by Francesca Beard (Soho Theatre / Roundhouse / UK Tour); Love and Information by Caryl Churchill (Institute of the Arts Barcelona); SEXY by Vanessa Kisuule (Roundhouse / Bristol Old Vic / UK Tour); Be Prepared by Ian Bonar (Underbelly / VAULT Festival); Party Trap by Ross Sutherland (Shoreditch Town Hall); Goosebumps by Rob Watt (The Vaults); The Joy of Normal devised by Rob Watt and the Company (Orange Tree Theatre); Earthquakes in London by Mike Bartlett (Institute of the Arts Barcelona); Standby For Tape Back-Up by Ross Sutherland (Summerhall / Soho Theatre / Shoreditch Town Hall / UK tour); Road by David Lane (Woodberry Down Community Centre, London).

About Theatre Centre
Theatre Centre is a national touring company that makes bold, relevant and resonant shows with and for young people. We commission new work from the most exciting writers and artists and take this work into schools and theatres across the UK. We have recently launched Future Makers, a whole new way of supporting young people as artists, creatives, active citizens and leaders. It is the core of all of our work and is the key to the way we unlock our young people-centred practice in schools and in our national and local communities.

Future Makers brings young people, artists and practitioners together to develop skills, explore big ideas and make work, share skills, explore big ideas and empower young people as artists, creatives, active citizens and leaders. Our work is all about working with and amplifying the voice of young people, to develop agency and empowerment, while telling relevant, authentic, and relatable stories.

Founded in 1953, we are an acknowledged leader in our field and our practice continues to evolve. Theatre Centre is predominantly a Learning Organisation and has an embedded culture of developing and nurturing everyone involved in or touched by the work.

About Sheffield Theatres
Sheffield Theatres is home to three theatres: the Crucible, the Sheffield landmark with a world-famous reputation; the Studio, an intimate, versatile space for getting closer to the action; and the gleaming Lyceum, the beautiful proscenium that hosts the best of the UK’s touring shows. Committed to investing in the creative leaders of the future, Sheffield Theatres’ dedicated talent development hub, The Bank, opened in 2019 to support a new cohort of emerging directors, writers and producers every year. In November 2020, the Crucible and Studio theatres celebrated their 50th anniversary. An anniversary season of work was announced to mark the occasion, including Chris Bush’s bold new trilogy Rock/Paper/Scissors to be performed across all three venues, plus the highly-anticipated return of Sheffield-set musical Standing at the Sky’s Edge.

Sheffield Theatres held the title ‘Regional Theatre of the Year’ for 2020, having previously held the title on an unprecedented three separate occasions. The company has a reputation for bold new work, and over the last year has produced new musical Standing at the Sky’s Edge, with music and lyrics by Mercury Prize nominated Richard Hawley. The production won the 2020 South Bank Sky Arts Award for theatre and was named Best Musical Production at the 2019 UK Theatre Awards. Standing at the Sky’s Edge was followed by a dazzling new adaptation of Life of Pi, which won four awards at the 2019 UK Theatre Awards, Achievement in Technical Theatre at the Stage Awards and Best New Play at the WhatsOnStage Awards. This success follows the phenomenal Sheffield musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie which started life at the Crucible in February 2017, before transferring to the West End later that year. In 2021 the show will resume a UK tour revisiting the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield in 2022, and the highly anticipated Everybody’s Talking About Jamie feature film was released simultaneously to 244 countries on Amazon Prime on 17 September 2021.

Crucible Lyceum Studio 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA
www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk

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