Bush announces new season themed around justice

Artistic director Madani Younis has announced his spring/summer season at the Bush Theatre, which will consist of four new plays themed around justice.

The season opens in January with the previously announced world premiere of Islands, a dark comedy by Caroline Horton about tax havens and revenue fraud, directed by Omar Elerian.

It's followed, from 13 March to 18 April, by The Royale, a play from American writer Marco Ramirez (Orange is the New Black) about the life of fictional boxer Jay Jackson, the "first African-American Heayweight Champion", who is loosely based on real-life boxer Jack Johnson.

Scripted in 12 rounds and directed by Younis, the play "looks at the transcendence of sporting heroes as cultural icons of our time."

Next up will be the London premiere of James Graham's The Angry Brigade (30 April – 13 June 2015), which tells the story of "modern Britain's first home-grown terrorist group". Directed by Paines Plough's James Grieve as part of the company's 40th anniversary, the play was first seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth earlier this year. Grieve and Graham previously collaborated at the Bush on The Whisky Taster in 2010.

Finally, Rebecca Lenkiewicz's new play The Invisible, about the current government's reforms to the provision of legal aid, will premiere from 3 July to 15 August 2015.

According to press material, "Following cuts totalling £350m, many ordinary people will find their access to justice restricted as their entitlement to free legal aid is withdrawn. Based on interviews with real people at all levels of the British justice system, this play aims to tell the stories of those ordinary people affected by the reforms and examine how these cuts are driving deeper cracks into the fabric of our society."

There will be a new series of 'BushGreen Live' events to complement the programme, comprising discussions prompted by the issues raised.

Madani Younis said today: "In programming our 2015 season, we were of course confronted by the general election. All of the plays in this season are not only outstanding pieces of new writing, but they also challenge significant injustices in our society."