Lydia West to star in UK premiere of A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction

Lydia West will make her stage debut in Miranda Rose Hall’s A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction.

Headlong and the Barbican are teaming up to present the piece, which makes its UK premiere with a landmark sustainable production.

Directed by Katie Mitchell, Lydia West (It’s a Sin, Inside Man) will perform the role of Naomi at the Barbican from 26 – 29 April, ahead of a national tour across the UK, which will see a different local actor and director take on the production at each venue. Each performance will be powered by bicycles peddled in real time throughout the duration of the show.

“The difference between death and extinction is this: death is to cease to exist. Extinction is to extinguish. I think of death as individual. Extinction is collective.”

Naomi is part of a touring theatre company and they have made a play especially for you – those who are living through extinction – except the actors haven’t shown up yet. We don’t know why, and maybe they will, but in the meantime, Naomi has a plan. Miranda Hall’s darkly funny and uplifting play explores what it means to be human in an era of man-made extinction.

Lydia West said: “I am thrilled to be collaborating with Katie Mitchell, Headlong and the Barbican on this very relevant piece. I think Barbican is the perfect venue for such an impactful show and I have been a huge admirer of Katie’s work for some time. I’m excited for everyone to see this and to bring this eco-feminist text to life in my professional stage debut.”

At each venue, local teams of theatre makers will mount the play following sustainability guidelines created by Mitchell with designs by Moi Tran.

A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction is Co-produced by Headlong and the Barbican with Belgrade Theatre, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Live Theatre Newcastle, New Vic and York Theatre Royal.

For more information and tickets, visit headlong.co.uk