Tony and Emmy winner Billy Porter, soon to be back on Broadway starring in Cabaret, is making his U.K. directorial debut with Harrison David Rivers' This Bitter Earth at Soho Theatre through July 26. Opening night is June 24, and previews began June 18. Get a first look at the show with newly released production shots below.
The cast features Olivier nominee Omari Douglas (Cabaret, It鈥檚 a Sin, Constellations) as Jesse and Alexander Lincoln (In From the Side, Emmerdale, Everything I Know About Love) as Neil. Understudies Stanton Plummer-Cambridge and Luke Striffler complete the company.
The new play, which follows young Black writer Jesse and his white activist lover Neil, asks, 鈥淲hat is the real cost of standing on the sidelines?鈥�
Alexander Lincoln and Omari Douglas in This Bitter Earth
Alexander Lincoln and Omari Douglas in This Bitter Earth
Omari Douglas and Alexander Lincoln in This Bitter Earth
Alexander Lincoln and Omari Douglas in This Bitter Earth
Omari Douglas in This Bitter Earth
In an earlier statement Porter said, 鈥淗arrison David Rivers has written a searingly poignant and necessary play about love and loss through the lens of the fraying American Democratic experiment. Simple. Complex. Direct and filled with compassion all at once. I鈥檓 thrilled to be a part of bringing this very special piece to life.鈥�
Porter, who directed a reading of the work in November 2024, also won a Tony as a co-producer of A Strange Loop and is the recipient of the 2024 Isabelle Stevenson Award. He won the 2019 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for playing Pray Tell on Pose.
The production features set and costume design by Morgan Large, original composition by Sean Green, sound design by Julian Starr, casting by Rob Kelly, and production management by Toby Darvill.
Elsie O鈥橰ourke is the company stage manager, and Jordan Deegan-Fleet is the deputy stage manager.
Thomas Hopkins produces with Jana Robbins, Craig Haffner and Sherry Wright, Alex Deacon, Jonathan Kaldor, and Kohl Beck in association with John Rogerson and Sarig Peker.
Visit .
