‘The men with the Piano look up the narrow staircase of our little flat and they turn to Dad, light their fags, and say; “We might have to take the windows out”.’
A piano came through the sky and landed in Lylah’s council flat, just for her. As she pours over the keys and sound floods into all the rooms, Lylah falls in love.
At school, Lylah can’t ask questions – she’s got to be good, good, good or else she’ll lose her scholarship. At home she can’t ask questions; her cousins say she talks weird, and her parents are distracted.
So she asks her piano: Where did you come from? Why are you here? And their shared history tumbles into the light.
Part gig, part piano lesson, part journey through Empire – Elephant is a powerful new play from Anoushka Lucas (star of Oklahoma!, Young Vic). A new Bush commission, Elephant first appeared as part of the Bush’s Protest series, a response to the murder of George Floyd.
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Elephant Pre-Show Information
Anoushka Lucas is a singer, songwriter, actor and writer.
Anoushka’s debut play Elephant premiered at the Bush Theatre in 2022.
As an actor, other credits include: Oklahoma! (West End / Young Vic); Henry V (Donmar); After Life (National); U.Me (BBC World Service). Her other credits include: Jesus Christ Superstar (Regent’s Park); Chiaroscuro (Bush); Faces in the Crowd (Gate); Sparks (Edinburgh Fringe/VAULT Festival).
As a composer, Anoushka co-composed the score to The Ballad of Klook and Vinette by Ché Walker (Park/NAMT Festival NYC), and The Etienne Sisters (Stratford East). More recently, Anoushka wrote the score for Sparks by Jessica Butcher (BBC Radio 4/Edinburgh Fringe/VAULT Festival) which won Best Musical of the Edinburgh Fringe 2018 and was adapted for BBC Radio 4. Anoushka, Jessica Butcher and their collaborator Jessica Edwards are currently under commission from Trafalgar Studios for a new musical.
Anoushka’s own music has been championed on BBC Introducing, BBC Radio 2 and Jazz FM and her debut album “Dark Soul’ was released in 2019.
Bella Kear graduated LAMDA in July 2021 with a First-Class Honours Degree in Production and Technical Arts.
Credits as a Sound Designer include: Invisible, Clutch, Elephant and The Kola Nut Does not Speak English (Bush Theatre); The Animal Kingdom (Hampstead); The Night Woman (Other Palace); First Love is the Revolution (East15); The Faith Machine (RADA); Pelican Daughters, Education, Education, Education (ArtsEd); Darling (Hope).
Credits as an Associate Sound Designer include: Newsies (Troubadour Wembley Park); Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner (Swedish Transfer); Edith (The Lowry); Purple Snowflakes (Royal Court); Blue/Orange (Theatre Royal Bath); A Place For We (Park).
Jess Edwards is a Queer writer and director who splits her time between Margate and Tottenham in North London. Jess directed and co-wrote Torch (New Diorama / Underbelly), Passengers (Summerhall / Adelaide Fringe) and The Box (Theatre Deli / Latitude).
More of her directing credits include: War and Culture (New Diorama); Elephant (Bush); Funeral Flowers (Roundhouse and UK tour); Albatross (Playground); Hotter/Fitter (Soho); Sparks (HighTide / Radio 4 / Pleasance); The Other Tchaikovsky (Radio 4); Nacktsängerin (BKA-Theater, Berlin); Denim: World Tour (Soho / Underbelly); Punts (Theatre503); The Itinerant Music Hall (Lyric Hammersmith / Latitude); Jekyll & Hyde (Southwark / Assembly).
Jess has also worked as an associate director at the the Young Vic, Almeida, Theatre Royal Bath and in the West End. She has won the Summerhall Lustrum Award for Passengers and the Best New Musical Award for Sparks. In 2021 she was awarded a Developing Your Creative Practice grant from the Arts Council for her writing.
She is currently workshopping her first play, creating a new musical with Trafalgar Entertainment Group, and developing two original screenplays.
Jess won the Studio21 Script Competition for her original pilot, Clitorati.
Ruth Burgon is a graduate of LAMDA and primarily works in new writing. Credits as Production Manager include Never Not Once (Park); BACK UP! (Bush Theatre); Nora, Let the Right One In (LAMDA). As Props Supervisor: Old Bridge (Bush Theatre). Stage Management credits include: Black is the Colour of My Voice (Seabright Productions); Coming Clean (King’s Head); Six (Bunker Theatre).
