The world premiere of Red Pitch by Tyrell Williams, a fast-paced, sharp-edged, and powerful story about gentrification and the impact of this relentless change on London’s communities opens at the Bush Theatre on 16 February (press night 22 February). The cast is Kedar Williams-Stirling (Sex Education), Emeka Sesay (Pretty Red Dress), and Francis Lovehall (Death on the Nile).
Three lifelong friends Omz, Bilal, and Joey are playing football. Like they always have. Living out dreams of football stardom. Beyond their football pitch, local shops are closing, old flats are being demolished as new flats shoot up, some residents struggle to stay while others rush to leave. When a small football pitch has been a home from home, a place you’ve laughed, fought, and forged friendships, what happens when it’s under threat?
Kedar Williams-Stirling (Bilal) is currently starring in the Netflix series Sex Education. His television credits include Steve McQueen’s anthology series Small Axe for the BBC and Amazon, the History Channel mini-series Roots and Wolfblood. Kedar’s stage credits include playing Young Simba in The Lion King (Lyceum), Big White Fog (Almeida Theatre), Welcome to Thebes (National Theatre), The Dutchman, and The History Boys.
Emeka Sesay (Joey) recently shot BBC independent feature Pretty Red Dress directed by Dionne Edwards. His previous credits include The Power for Amazon, The Novels That Shaped Us for BBC 2 with Russell Tovey, Top Boy for Netflix, and Armando Iannucci’s David Copperfield alongside Dev Patel, Hugh Laurie, and Tilda Swinton. In 2016 Emeka appeared in Shadowman as well as BAFTA-nominated short films Samuel613 and Goodnight.
Francis Lovehall (Omz) most recently featured in Steve McQueen’s highly acclaimed Small Axe: Lovers Rock in his screen debut. He made his professional debut in Nick Hytner’s celebrated production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Bridge before graduating from RADA in 2019. Last year, Francis wrapped Masters Of The Air for Apple TV+ with Dee Rees directing his episodes, which he shot concurrently with His Dark Materials 3 for HBO and BBC.
Writer Tyrell Williams was on the BAFTA Elevate scheme 2018 and was previously a Broadcast Hotshot. He co-created, co-wrote, and directed the viral web series #HoodDocumentary which has had over 4 million views on Youtube. Following its online acclaim, #HoodDocumentary went on to be commissioned for pilot episodes by BBC Three which Tyrell directed and co-wrote. Tyrell has original television scripts in development with Fudge Park, SLAM Films, and Big Deal Films. Red Pitch is his first full-length play and in its early iteration won the Young Harts Writing Festival ‘Audience Favourite’ award when it debuted at The Ovalhouse Theatre in June 2019.
Director Daniel Bailey is Associate Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre. He was previously Associate Director at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, originally joining The REP as part of the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme where his work included artist development programmes for writers, theatre-makers, and directors. He has previously been Resident Director at the National Theatre Studio, an Associate Artist at Theatre Royal Stratford East and Resident Assistant Director at The Finborough Theatre. Daniel studied Modern Drama at Brunel University before participating in the Young Vic’s Introduction to Directing. Directing work includes: For the Bush The High Table. For the Rep: Blue/Orange, Concubine, Stuff, I Knew You, Abuelo, Jump! We’ll Catch You, Made In India/Britain and Exhale. Unknown Rivers (Hampstead Theatre), Covered (New Heritage Theatre). His film director credits include: Fehinti Balogun’s Can I Live? (Complicité), On Belonging (Young Vic), Malachi (S.E.D), Floating On Clouds (Kingdom Entertainment Group), and Y.O.L.O. Therapy (S.E.D).
Daniel will be assisted by Monaé Robinson who is the recipient of the Resident Director Bursary programme at the Bush Theatre, working closely with the artistic team to bring to life the creative vision of the team. Monaé started her career as a community and cultural arts leader. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Theatre & Performance from Goldsmiths University, and is a performance maker that typically focuses on Afrofuturism. In October 2021, Monaé directed OJA as part of Theatre Peckham’s Young, Gifted and Black festival. Monaé self defines as “a black creative that wants to make change, lead with their heart and speak up for the oppressed as a radical act. I hope by this highlighting of my humanity I can inspire many more to lead with their hearts when it comes to being Black in the arts & beyond.”
A Bush Theatre Production
RED PITCH
Written by Tyrell Williams
Directed by Daniel Bailey
Assistant Director - Monaé Robinson
Set and Costume Designer - Amelia Jane Hankin
Lighting Designer - Ali Hunter
Sound Designer - Khalil Madovi
Movement Director - Dickson Mbi
Fight Director - Kev McCurdy
Costume Supervisor - Megan Rarity
Dramaturg - Deirdre O'Halloran
Casting Director - Heather Basten CDG
Casting Assistant - Fran Cattaneo
Cast - Kedar Williams-Stirling, Emeka Sesay and Francis Lovehall
16 February – 26 March
Monday - Saturday at 7.30 pm
Matinees - 26 February & 2, 5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26 March at 2.30 pm
Captioned Performances - 5 March at 2.30 pm, 17 March at 7.30 pm
Audio Described Performances - 10 March at 7.30 pm, 19 March at 2.30 pm
Relaxed and Sensory Adapted performances - 3 March at 7.30 pm, 12 March at 2.30 pm
Press Night - 22 February at 7 pm
