title. screens
date. 2016
theatre. theatre503
Asylum’s not a dirty word
Depends who says it…
SCREENS opened at Theatre503 in August 2016.
Emine is more interested in a dead cat than her kids…Al is lost in Grindr, discovering that having a love life is incompatible with his incessant need to mollycoddle his ungrateful, acid-tongued sister Ayşe – a fierce and intelligent young woman, who is drowning in the mire of social media.
Screens focuses squarely on a Turkish-Cypriot family barely treading water, clinging onto a sense of self and identity as it all starts to unravel.
Reviews and Coverage
★★★★★ – LGBTQ Arts Review
The story that subsequently unfolds is so painfully honest that you cannot help but squirm in your seat. It so skilfully and beautifully speaks to anyone who has been bought up by a parent who came to the UK to give their children a ‘better life’… This play is important.
★★★★★ – Boyz Magazine
With pungent themes that get under the skin and stay there, this taut drama is so timely it feels like it was just written.
★★★★ – The Stage
Stephen Laughton’s well-observed script examines how we control, alter and delete ourselves to suit the ones we’re with…it is hard not to come away feeling anxious for the future of Generation Brexit
★★★★ – Jewish News
Stephen Laughton’s new play is an emotionally explosive exploration of the relationships within a family who are all struggling to accept and understand their individual identities, heritage, sexuality, nationality and place in society…If he can do all this in one act, one can only imagine what he is capable of creating in the future.
★★★★ – Whats On Stage
Stephen Laughton’s story is gripping, gritty and plays out on a personal level….A thought-provoking, eye-opening play that tells a story often not heard, that needs to be told.
★★★★ – The Upcoming
Brilliantly written, Screens is witty, relevant, moving theatre.
★★★★ – London Theatre 1
There’s much food for thought in this uncompromisingly forthright and vigorous play.
★★★★ – Reviews Hub
Laughton’s exploration of identity, continues to unpack itself in one’s mind long after the house lights have come up.
★★★★ – Everything Theatre
Highly enjoyable, funny, thought-provoking and well written…Stephen Laughton is a writer worth keeping an eye on.
★★★★ – Reviewsgate
Stephen Laughton has pedigree and doesn’t disappoint with his latest, Screens aptly turning up at Theatre503 just as who we are, and what we are bears down heavily on the national psyche… An important milestone.
★★★★ – Theatre Bubble
Screens is an intense piece of theatre that asks questions that needs to be asked…a complex, nuanced piece of writing from Stephen Laughton.
Recommended – Aleks Sierz (Doesn’t star rate)
There are many plays that feature digital devices, but few that pack as tight a punch as Stephen Laughton’s aptly-titled Screens. By wrapping this family drama in the garb of current debates about digital distress and national identity, Laughton delivers a powerful vision of where we are at the moment.
Attitude Magazine Op-Ed by Stephen Laughton
Full Cast & Crew
Al – Declan Perring
Ayşe – Nadia Hynes
Emine – Fisun Burgess
Ben – Paul Bloomfield
Charlie – George Jovanovic
Director – Cressida Brown
Producer – Paul Bloomfield
Writer – Stephen Laughton
Lighting/Projection Design – Richard Williamson
Associate Lighting and Projection Design – Dan English
Sound Design – Jon Mcleod
Design Consultant – Georgia Lowe
Wardrobe Assistant – Emma Hughes
Stage/Production Manager – Richard Irvine
Deputy Stage Manager – Susan Burns
Associate Producer – Robyn Bennett
PR - TheMACHINE