Billy Porter makes his West End directorial debut with This Bitter Earth at the Soho Theatre

The iconic Billy Porter is headed to London’s West End. Whilst he has graced its stages once before whilst performing in Cabaret, this will be his first time directing.

Porter has directed Harrison David Rivers’ new play This Bitter Earth which is running from 18th June until 26th July at Soho Theatre. Starring Omari Douglas (It’s a Sin) as Jesse, and Alexander Lincoln (Emmerdale) as Neil, the play is set to be one of the hottest tickets of the summer.

This Bitter Earth follows Jesse, an introspective Black playwright, as his relationship with boyfriend Neil is tested and challenged by divisive political realities. Jesse finds his choices challenged when Neil - a white Black Lives Matter activist - calls him out for his political apathy. As passions and priorities collide, this couple is forced to reckon with issues of race, class and the bravery it takes to love out loud.

With Shortlist in the audience for the show’s reveal, Billy, Harrison, and the cast chatted about the show’s creation:

Can you give us a little bit of an overview of the play?

Billy Porter: The play asks tough questions about race that many are too scared to ask but will cause the destruction and demise of humanity if we don’t talk about them. It’s a microcosm of a relationship and how they come together to try and rigorously have these conversations no matter how difficult they get. That’s really profound to me and resonated with me - I was on board by page three! Our civilisation needs healing; it starts in our own homes and we create these healing ripples - this play does that too.

Harrison David Rivers: This play offers love as an antidote to the mess we’re in. But it’s not just love as a feeling, it’s about love as an action. Love that is love when it’s hard, when it’s messy, when you can’t seem to connect - this play is about the effort of love. It’s glorified by the disconnect and messiness.

Omari Douglas: The play is poetic and yet very real; you get a lens into the micro of this relationship and then you’ve got this macro view of the world. [To echo the others] it’s about healing and love.

Alexander Lincoln: I mean it’s a truly beautiful piece. The wider issues are so pertinent and it was such an amazing thing to be a part of - not just as a creative or an actor but as a human. There is a humanness to all of this - it’s the undercurrent of the play which refinds the forgotten connection. It instills the ability to not just sit idly by and let others do the work but to take action in understanding and being a part of change.

How and why did you write it?

HDR: It started as a visceral reaction to living - in a black body - and turned into a treatise on love. The play morphed as the world changed, becoming about connection, relationship and the act of love.

What do you hope the audience will take away from it?

BP: It’s always a difficult question as art is so unique. I would love people to walk away engaged in something that feels like healing; what can I do to contribute to the healing of civilisation. We’re all individuals and cannot do it alone - my hope is we can come out of here and make a choice as an individual to just make a change in how we relate to the world.

HDR: I wrote the play to encourage people to be present in the here and now - with whoever or whatever (family members, lovers). We all need that encouragement and reminder to show up in our everyday lives. The play is not a call to arms, but a message to be present and responsive in the now.

What was your directing process like?

BP: My process is rooted in my experience. As an actor I knew what I didn’t like and what I did like [from a director]. My mentor George Wolfe said on the first day of rehearsal, you have thirty minutes to assess everyone’s crazy… and then never engage it. There’s truth in that when you break it down; you know, we’re emotional people, and I always come to the table trying to make sure the actors feel safe. Because when the artists feel safe, that’s when we get the best.

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Photo credit: Elliot Franks