Sharon Rose and Reece Richards to star in Love Steps world premiere
Casting has been announced for Love Steps, written and directed by poet Anastasia Osei-Kuffour (Typical) in her playwriting debut.
Sharon Rose (Sylvia) and Reece Richards (Sex Education) will star in the piece, billed as a “choreopoem”. The drama fuses poetry, dance and music to tell the story of Anna, a young, ambitious woman, who sets out to redefine the ideal of love on her own terms. The semi-autobiographical work also explores Black female identity and racial perspectives on beauty.
Osei-Kuffour commented: “When I was younger, I struggled to identify with romantic love represented in mainstream theatre, TV and film. I rarely saw myself reflected in those stories or in stereotypical beauty industry images.
“I wrote Love Steps to counter skewed cultural messages, highlight the turbulent love journeys people experience and hopefully inspire greater understanding for others. Drawing on my own experience for inspiration adds an authenticity I hope will move audiences and allow people to see themselves in what is essentially a story with universal relevance.”
The creative team behind Love Steps also includes choreographer and movement director Leroy ‘FX’ Dias Dos Santos (member of dance group Flawless).
The production will debut at Omnibus Theatre (3 to 20 April) and transfer to Talawa’s Studio Theatre Fairfield Halls (29 May to 1 June).
Marie McCarthy, artistic director of Omnibus Theatre, said: “I am delighted to welcome Love Steps to Omnibus Theatre. Anastasia’s vision and cross-art form practice make for an ambitious and unique project. Anastasia’s creative journey from director to writer also chimes with the ethos of our artist development programme, whose aim is to nurture talent and support bold new work.”
Talawa’s artistic director Michael Buffong added: “Anastasia, is an artist we have been championing in one form or another for some time. Her work as director and now writer is welcomed. We are excited by the prospect of this new piece of work coming to us, as it speaks directly to our mission of enabling new work as well as exploring a different form of storytelling.”
Love Steps is presented by Wrested Veil and TO Entertainment and co-produced by Ebenezer Ademisoye with the support of Talawa Theatre Company and Omnibus Theatre.
