Olivier Award-winning show Rotterdam heading to Birmingham REP following Wolverhampton run
Following three critically acclaimed runs in London and a highly successful transfer to New York, Donnacadh O’Briain’s Olivier Award-winning production of Rotterdam is coming to Birmingham.
Written by acclaimed playwright Jon Brittain, co-creator of Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho, writer of A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad) and staff writer on The Crown, Rotterdam will come to Birmingham REP from May 20 to 22 after completing its run at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.
The show is set on New Year in Rotterdam, and Alice has finally plucked up the courage to email her parents and tell them she's gay.
But before she can hit send, her girlfriend Fiona reveals that he has always identified as male and now wants to start living as a man named Adrian. Now, as Adrian confronts the reality of his transition, Alice faces a question she never thought she'd ask: does this mean she's straight?
Trans non-binary actor Lucy Jane Parkinson will star as Fiona/Adrian, playing opposite Bethan Cullinane as Alice. Trans actor Elijah W Harris will play Alice’s brother Josh and Ellie Morris returns to the production to play Dutch partygoer Lelani.
Director Donnacadh O’Briain said: “We are delighted to be taking Rotterdam on its first UK tour. It’s a privilege to be able to share this funny, moving and beautiful story with audiences around the whole country.”
Brittain was inspired to write Rotterdam after several of his friends transitioned in the late 2000s. He became aware of the absence of transgender stories in pop culture and wanted to address this on the stage.
Through writing this show, he researched and consulted widely including talking to trans people and their partners, conducting a reading for members of trans communities and discussing the show with various organisations, including Trans Media Watch who then endorsed Rotterdam, and the charity Gendered Intelligence, who the company dedicated their Olivier award to.
The show was recently co-produced in Los Angeles by Hartshorn – Hook Productions and Skylight Theatre where the production won the top award at the Los Angeles Drama Critics’ Circle Awards jointly with Hamilton.
For more information and to buy tickets, click here.
