Why it matters: The new play from East Anglian theatre company Curious Directive offers an authentic portrait of land and legacy, devised in collaboration with Norfolk farmers who brought their lived experience to the production.
The details: Black Sheep runs at the New Wolsey Theatre from Wednesday, 5 November to Saturday, 8 November as part of a five-venue tour.
The production has a Chekhovian quality, with its quiet tension, subtext, and focus on everyday lives. It charts the Carter family's struggle to secure their future succession while facing brutal environmental upheavals and the unyielding grind of farm life.
The play originated as part of the National Theatre Generate Programme and confronts global issues of food provenance and the climate emergency, whilst exploring universal themes of love, grief, inheritance and belonging.
What they're saying: Jack Lowe, curious directive founder and artistic director, said: "Having grown up in rural Norfolk, next to a tenant farmer, Black Sheep does feel like my most personal work to date. We explored the idea during a Science Club (our public R&D process) and it's clear that farming is also important to audience members across the UK."
He added: "The acting company has two working farmers which has also brought a special provenance to the work. All three of us were in Whitehall on the recent marches around the family farming tax. Farmers are often misunderstood, and Black Sheep gives an authentic voice to themes of food security, the climate emergency and the embedded, coded language or rural life."
The bigger picture: The production features long-time collaborators Amanda Hadingue and Sophie Steer in the cast, with a design collaboration with Linbury Prize winner Zoë Hurwitz and Irish Times Award-winning sound designer Helen Atkinson.
The show runs for 2 hours 15 minutes including an interval and is suitable for ages 14 and above.
The bottom line: Black Sheep brings contemporary rural stories to the Ipswich stage, offering audiences an intimate and authentic exploration of the dilemmas facing generations of farming families.
Tickets cost £15-26 and are available at wolseytheatre.co.uk or by calling 01473 295900.
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