Casting announced for RELICS at Lyric Hammersmith
Casting has been announced for the world premiere production of Relics by Olivier Award nominee Ben Ockrent at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, which will run at the venue from 18 June-18 July.
Directed by Michael Longhurst, the cast features Charly Clive (Rooster, The Lazarus Project), JJ Feild (Little Disasters, A Midsummer Night's Dream), Sally Phillips (Bridget Jones, Miranda, Smack The Pony), and Sam Swainsbury (Mum, 2:22 A Ghost Story).
“There’s some Alphabites in the freezer. Pop the oven on. You can eat your own words.”
When four siblings reunite at their recently-deceased mother’s home with the intention of divvying up her possessions, a long-buried family secret explodes out into the open - challenging everything they thought they knew about themselves and each other.
True to form, Liv thinks she can bulldozer her way back to how things used to be. People-pleaser, Rob, just wants everyone to get along. But Michelle’s had enough of towing the fragile family line. And with prodigal son, Jonny, hellbent on pushing everyone’s buttons, they all look set to lose everything - their dignity included.
The world premiere of Ben Ockrent's Relics is a darkly comic family drama about the legacies we inherit, the choices we make, and the heartbreaking compromise of growing up, directed by the award-winning Michael Longhurst.
Writer Ben Ockrent said: “It is the honour of my life that Relics will get to have its world premiere at the storied Lyric Hammersmith Theatre this summer. To have Michael Longhurst at the helm of this first production is additionally thrilling, and I am so looking forward to embarking on this journey with him. I also feel lucky beyond words to get to do this with a quartet of such phenomenally talented actors. Relics explores the fraught complexities of familial love and I can’t wait for audiences to meet the tender, funny and flawed family which Charly, JJ, Sally and Sam will serve up to them.”
Director Michael Longhurst said: “I’m excited to start rehearsing Ben Ockrent's brilliant new play with this amazing group of actors. I think Ben has mined that primal, excruciatingly recognisable, tendency in us all to regress when forced to return to the family home. And what’s more fun than siblings behaving badly?”
The creative team includes set & costume designer Joanna Scotcher, lighting designer Simisola Majekodunmi, sound designer Dan Balfour, casting director Anna Cooper CDG, and fight director Bret Yount.
