A new theatre season has begun, and that means there are budding stage performers to entertain us and brand-new productions to keep an eye out for. We want to introduce you to three new shows hitting the Bush Theatre in 2025.
Speed
Based on such an inexplicably intriguing concept, Speed is an emotional comedy like no other. Set in an unremarkable Birmingham hotel function room, three people caught speeding while driving must attend a road safety course. Led by Abz, the facilitator for the event, the class descends into an anger management therapy session between a lawyer, a youth worker, and a nurse.
Making its stage debut at the Bush Theatre, Speed has been created by writer Mohamed-Zain Dada and director Milli Bhatia, who earned Olivier Award nominations for their production Blue Mist.
…Blackbird Hour
It’s bound to be one of the most inspirational theatre displays you’ll see in 2025. Commencing on January 30th, 2025, the plot revolves around Eshe, a queer black woman who has been looking for love externally without loving herself. Her journey to change this might seem ostensibly like an existential crisis, but the narrative shifts all thanks to a letter one day.
This is a continuation of Babirye Bukilwa’s excellent debut production, ‘…Cake’, so there will also be plenty of clamour to see …Blackbird Hour.
Lavender, Hyacinth, Violet, Yew
There’s been quite a coup for writer Coral Wylie and director Debbie Hannan as ‘It’s a Sin’ star Omari Douglas has been cast to lead in Lavender, Violet, Hyacinth, Yew. The show begins on February 8th, 2025, and is a bold comedy we think you’ll love. When the diary of a deceased person is discovered in the family home, young Pip is determined to uncover the whole truth.
Attempting to build bridges in bygone relationships, Pip navigates this dazzling and wonderfully queer spectacle at the Bush Theatre until March 22nd, 2025. Omari Douglas has previously been nominated for an Olivier Award, so the performance is bound to be strong and compelling.
Summary
Artistic Director at the Bush Theatre, Lynette Linton, had this to say, “It’s a bitter-sweet feeling to announce my penultimate season as Artistic Director of The Bush, though exciting as it shows just what we’re all about, developing new writers and creatives and inviting them into the Bush family. For Coral Wylie, one of our Emerging Writer’s Group alumnus who has also performed in the Bush Young Company, Lavender, Hyacinth, Violet, Yew is their first show to be produced on a main stage. For Babirye Bukilwa and Mohamad-Zain Dada, it’s the first visit by writers I’m a huge fan of.”
Grab your tickets for any new shows online via Theatre Tokens, an exciting way to present a loved one with the gift of theatre.