Originally performed at the Royal Court Theatre in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from Thursday 07 October 2021 - Saturday 23 October 2021
Commenting on the play playwright Lucy Kirkwood says;
“This play was for many years a private conversation with myself. The horrific murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa this year have galvanised me into making it public. I hesitate to even call it a play when it is simply a howl, a way of expressing what I feel about a culture of violence against women, but I am sharing it because I wonder if it might express a little of what other people feel about it too. It was written very quickly, and I am grateful to the Royal Court for snatching up a gauntlet thrown down last Friday night with such energy, care and seriousness.“
OPIA Collective will be putting on a script-in-hand performance of Lucy Kirkwood’s new play Maryland.
OPIA Collective was founded in 2017 with the primary intention to create multidisciplinary work that brings an authentic representation of the female and LGBTQIA+ experience. As a collective, we identify as either queer, female or both and our strengths lie in various art forms such as film-makers, writers, musicians, poets & dancers led by Artistic Director, Masha Kevinovna.
OPIA's work has been performed, commissioned, developed at Theatre Royal Stratford East, Lyric Hammersmith, Battersea Arts Centre, Theatre Peckham & Bunker Theatre. Current members have worked extensively in their art forms within establishments such as TRINITY Laban, National Youth Theatre, Royal Court, Apples & Snakes, The Albany and Southbank Centre.
Recently, OPIA Collective completed an acclaimed run of The Girl With Glitter in Her Eye at Bunker Theatre (Jan 2020) and premiered This Queer House at VAULT Festival 2020.
www.opiacollective.co.uk
Proceeds shall go to Rape Crisis England and Wales as supported by the original production from the Royal Court.
Rape Crisis England & Wales is the umbrella organisation of a network of independent Rape Crisis Centres who provide a range of specialist services for women and girls that have been raped or experienced any form of sexual violence - whether as adults or as children.
Content Warning: Please note this play contains strong language, references to sexual assault, rape and violence, abduction and murder, and police brutality and coercion.