Photos

1st Night Photos: Government Backs Tricycle Love

| London's West End |

22 January 2008

Leaders at the Arts Council may be under fire over their controversial funding cut proposals, but they aren’t afraid to face the theatrical community. Chief executive Alan Davey turned up last night (21 January 2008, previews from 17 January) for the opening of Kwame Kwei-Armah’s new play Let There Be Love at north London’s Tricycle Theatre (See News, 10 Oct 2007).

Davey wasn’t the only politico in attendance for the world premiere. Also on hand were Culture Secretary James Purnell and MP Diane Abbott. For 1st Night Photos, our Whatsonstage.com photographer Dan Wooller joined them, the company and other first-night guests at the post-show party at the Tricycle.

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Let There Be Love – which opens just two months after the premiere of Statement of Regret, the final instalment in Kwei-Armah’s “state of the nation” trilogy at the National Theatre – is billed as “an immigrant’s tale of beginnings, endings and Britishness set against the music of Nat King Cole”.

When West Indian pensioner Alfred Morris is kicked out of his daughter’s Croydon house, he returns to his Willesden home to find he’s been gifted a ‘Polish cleaner/home help’ named Maria, who is eager to learn the ways of her new land. The cantankerous and xenophobic Alfred realises that he may indeed still have a role in life: he could teach Maria to be British.

The cast are Joseph Marcell, Lydia Leonard and Sharon Duncan-Brewster. The production is directed by Kwei-Armah and designed by Helen Goddard. It continues at the Tricycle until 16 February 2008.

– by Terri Paddock