Acclaimed theatre company Forest Forge embark on a UK tour this autumn with the world premiere of a brand new play – Kaite O’Reilly’s ‘Woman of Flowers’, an innovative retelling of an ancient story from the medieval Welsh manuscripts The Mabinogion, and written especially for RADA trained actress Sophie Stone, who is deaf.
A story of desire, duty, deceit and revenge, ‘Woman of Flowers’ explores the lengths someone will go to in order to escape the life chosen for them.
Rose cannot remember what came before the house at the edge of the isolated forest. Gwynne says he magicked her out of the flowers, but she’s not so sure. She has played the part of the perfect farmer’s wife for Lewis, who is kept firmly in place by his uncle Gwynne, and accepted her lonely existence. Then a captivating stranger is seen in the forest and Rose must decide on where her future really lies. The cast includes Thomas Brownlee and Andrew Wheaton and is led by deaf actress Sophie Stone, who was the first deaf student to win a place at RADA. Kaite O’Reilly wrote the part of Rose specially for Sophie after working with her on ‘n Water I’m Weightless’, a Cultural Olympiad piece with National Theatre Wales in 2012.
Kirstie Davis, Artistic Director of Forest Forge, said: “I have long been an admirer of Kaite’s work and Forest Forge were the first rural touring company to produce her ground breaking play ‘Peeling’. I saw ‘In Water I’m Weightless’ and asked Kaite what she would like to write and who she would like to write for. The answer was this show and we both wanted Sophie to be the lead. We are so excited to be producing this extraordinary piece which will equally challenge and delight an audience in its look at those people who exist on the margins of society.”
Kaite O’Reilly’s work has been performed both in the UK and internationally; she has won numerous awards and was the first playwright to win the prestigious Ted Hughes Award for New Works.
Featuring live music, dance, video, surtitles and sections of theatricalised sign, ‘Woman of Flowers’ will appear just once on the Artsreach circuit this autumn and so early booking is advised to avoid disappointment.
Sat 18th Oct, 7:30pm. West Stafford Village Hall. 01305 261984
