Luke Wright: What i Learned from Johnny Bevan

Open Mic Event

Contact: 01423502116

He’s best known for blistering, incisive and astute performance poetry and regular slots on BBC Radio, but it was Luke Wright’s first theatre show What I Learned from Johnny Bevan that took the Edinburgh Fringe by storm and sold out three weeks at London’s Soho Theatre. Wright received a Stage Award for Acting Excellence for his hurricane performance and the show won a Fringe First for the quality of the writing. The London run added a nomination for the 2017 Off West End Awards. Now this critically acclaimed solo stage show takes to the road so that audiences around the country can enjoy this ‘strikingly assured performance of a compelling piece of writing’ (The Scotsman ★★★★)

What I Learned From Johnny Bevan is a compelling, politically charged story encompassing shattered friendships, class, social ceilings, and The Labour Party’s battle for its soul.

‘Stirring eloquence and resonant delivery heighten the drama and clarify the emotional impact’ ★★★★ The Stage

At university the whip-smart, mercurial Johnny Bevan saves Nick, smashing his comfortable middle class bubble and firing him up about politics, music and literature. Twenty years later, as their youthful dreams disintegrate alongside the social justice they hoped for, can Nick, now a jaded music journalist, save Johnny from himself?

‘A pulsating piece of poetic storytelling’ ★★★★ Lyn Gardner, Guardian

Luke Wright delivers an impassioned, spellbinding performance of his razor sharp script that is infused with humour, humanity and wit. What I Learned From Johnny Bevan strikes at the heart of British politics, questioning the middle class value system that encouraged the rise of New Labour and David Cameron’s brand of Conservatism, and saw both parties abandon the working class. This gripping story is a modern fable that reflects today’s political polarisation and resonates with the disillusionment felt by many. Watch the 360° video www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgwxdTcm5OY

Wright was recently invited to perform the show at Westminster to an audience of MP’s and parliamentary workers.

‘An astonishing, thought-provoking and original tour-de-force’ ★★★★★ London Theatre1

Written and performed by Luke in deft visceral, punchy verse, with a score by Ian Catskilkin from the band Art Brut, tautly directed by Soho Theatre Associate Director and nabokov Artistic Director Joe Murphy.

‘It’s like an episode of This Is England, delivered by one man. Brilliant’ ★★★★ Daily Record

Price: £10.00

Time: 8:00pm