Tower Theatre Company : 2037 : The Burden

2037 : The Burden

by Rukiat Ashawe

Directed by Landé Belo

Wednesday 10 - Saturday 20 July, 2024

At the Tower Theatre, Stoke Newington

**One of five plays performed together as part of Ain't I A Woman? - a theatrical initiative examining the intersection of race and gender; written, directed and produced by black women.

Photography by Pau Ros

Cast List**

Doctor : Norma Hewins
Fin : Kahlea Allison
Clive : Dominic Reed
Brave : Manuela Lazić
Max : Femi Davies
Jinx : Chaachi Deane

Production Team

Director : Landé Belo
Assistant Director : Eileen Gbagbo

Norma Hewins has had the ambition to act and write ever since she can remember. Now, after 35 years in Education with 15 of them in senior leadership roles and 10 of those in headship... she feels it's her time! It’s never too late to follow your dreams. At 60, she is delighted to be cast in her first public appearance at the Tower. She is married with 3 children and 1 granddaughter.

London and Essex based Actor Kahlea Allison is a captivating performer with a range of experience and a versatile skill set. Her passion for acting has led her to honing her skills in Theatre, short-films, and gaining experience as an assistant director. Kahlea graduated with a 1st in Drama and Performance and has attended 2 years of drama school at Collective Acting Studio, training in the Meisner acting technique, Laban movement, screen acting, improv, voice-acting work, and American accents.

Ain't I A Woman? is Dominic Reed’s second production with the Tower Theatre after performing with the company in A Dream Play earlier this year. He previously appeared as Josh in New Stagers’ production of The House Amongst the Willows. He gained acting experience with Hoopla, Acting Coach Scotland and the Tron Theatre Glasgow. He is also a writer, with published stories in The Wurd and Flash Frontier. He was shortlisted for the 2020 Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize and won third prize in the 2021 Fractured Lit Flash Fiction prize.

This is Manuela Lazić’s first Tower Theatre production and her first time on the stage! She trained in the Meisner technique at the Actors Temple, and has also participated in a very formative month-long Tennessee Williams workshop in Paris with American acting coach Jordan Beswick. Manuela is also a professional film critic writing for various British and international publications, as well as a filmmaker, having so far directed two short films. She is currently co-writing another short film that aims to shoot in the summer.

Femi Davies joined the Tower Theatre in April this year and Ain't I a Woman? is his first production with the company. He has trained with Identity School of Acting, Kingdom School of Arts, City Academy and has appeared in showcases such as Chicago and Constellations. Femi also has a background including short films and stand up comedy. He is currently training with Middleweek Newton Actors Academy and for fun, “likes to be funny and work on music and stuff”.

Chaachi Deane is an actor and singer of mixed British and Caribbean heritage. She grew up just around the corner from the Tower Theatre and has loved performing for as long as her memories go back. Musical theatre is one of her biggest passions and she sings regularly in concerts and cabaret nights. A recent highlight was getting to sing some Aretha Franklin in Festoon Theatre’s show Divas which was held at Phoenix Arts Club. Recent acting credits at the Tower include Margot in Labour of Love and Bettina in Two Billion Beats. She also played Aladdin in the Mildmay Club’s mash-up panto Cinderladdin.

Landé Belo’s directing credits with the Tower include Fix Up (2019),I can’t breathe: being black in a time of Covid (part of the Love [and Survival] Festival) (2021), Mules (2021), Leave Taking (2022) and The Gift (2023). Her acting credits with the Tower include Francine/Lena in Clybourne Park, multiple characters in Doctor Faustus, Prudence in The House of Bernarda Alba, Pope Joan/Louise in Top Girls, Jellaby in Arcadia, Cynthia in Sweat, Queen Elizabeth in Richard III and Escalus in Measure for Measure. She produced In Hiding, a critically acclaimed show which premièred at the Tower Theatre in June 2023 and sold out its entire run, making it one of the most successful productions in Tower history and the first production as part of Landé’s initiative to promote black, female voices in theatre. Ain’t I A Woman? is the next instalment in this initiative.

Rukiat Ashaweis a content creator, writer and playwright from South London. As a creator and writer, Rukiat’s initial focus centred around feminist concepts on gender and sexuality, which she has been awarded and received nominations for from NAZ, SH:24 and Brook. After a degree in sociology and entering the world of marketing, Rukiat leaned more into her love of science fiction, technology and digital culture. Combined with her love of gender studies, she is now exploring the intersections between them all as a creator and through her fictional work.

	Norma Hewins has had the ambition to act and write ever since she can remember. Now, after 35 years in Education with 15 of them in senior leadership roles and 10 of those in headship... she feels it's her time! It’s never too late to follow your dreams. At 60, she is delighted to be cast in her first public appearance at the Tower. She is married with 3 children and 1 granddaughter.			London and Essex based Actor Kahlea Allison is a captivating performer with a range of experience and a versatile skill set. Her passion for acting has led her to honing her skills in Theatre, short-films, and gaining experience as an assistant director. Kahlea graduated with a 1st in Drama and Performance and has attended 2 years of drama school at Collective Acting Studio, training in the Meisner acting technique, Laban movement, screen acting, improv, voice-acting work, and American accents.
	Ain't I A Woman? is Dominic Reed’s second production with the Tower Theatre after performing with the company in A Dream Play earlier this year. He previously appeared as Josh in New Stagers’ production of The House Amongst the Willows. He gained acting experience with Hoopla, Acting Coach Scotland and the Tron Theatre Glasgow. He is also a writer, with published stories in The Wurd and Flash Frontier. He was shortlisted for the 2020 Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize and won third prize in the 2021 Fractured Lit Flash Fiction prize.			This is Manuela Lazić’s first Tower Theatre production and her first time on the stage! She trained in the Meisner technique at the Actors Temple, and has also participated in a very formative month-long Tennessee Williams workshop in Paris with American acting coach Jordan Beswick. Manuela is also a professional film critic writing for various British and international publications, as well as a filmmaker, having so far directed two short films. She is currently co-writing another short film that aims to shoot in the summer.
	Femi Davies joined the Tower Theatre in April this year and Ain't I a Woman? is his first production with the company. He has trained with Identity School of Acting, Kingdom School of Arts, City Academy and has appeared in showcases such as Chicago and Constellations. Femi also has a background including short films and stand up comedy. He is currently training with Middleweek Newton Actors Academy and for fun, “likes to be funny and work on music and stuff”.			Chaachi Deane is an actor and singer of mixed British and Caribbean heritage. She grew up just around the corner from the Tower Theatre and has loved performing for as long as her memories go back. Musical theatre is one of her biggest passions and she sings regularly in concerts and cabaret nights. A recent highlight was getting to sing some Aretha Franklin in Festoon Theatre’s show Divas which was held at Phoenix Arts Club. Recent acting credits at the Tower include Margot in Labour of Love and Bettina in Two Billion Beats. She also played Aladdin in the Mildmay Club’s mash-up panto Cinderladdin.
	Landé Belo’s directing credits with the Tower include Fix Up (2019),I can’t breathe: being black in a time of Covid (part of the Love [and Survival] Festival) (2021), Mules (2021), Leave Taking (2022) and The Gift (2023). Her acting credits with the Tower include Francine/Lena in Clybourne Park, multiple characters in Doctor Faustus, Prudence in The House of Bernarda Alba, Pope Joan/Louise in Top Girls, Jellaby in Arcadia, Cynthia in Sweat, Queen Elizabeth in Richard III and Escalus in Measure for Measure. She produced In Hiding, a critically acclaimed show which premièred at the Tower Theatre in June 2023 and sold out its entire run, making it one of the most successful productions in Tower history and the first production as part of Landé’s initiative to promote black, female voices in theatre. Ain’t I A Woman? is the next instalment in this initiative.			Rukiat Ashaweis a content creator, writer and playwright from South London. As a creator and writer, Rukiat’s initial focus centred around feminist concepts on gender and sexuality, which she has been awarded and received nominations for from NAZ, SH:24 and Brook. After a degree in sociology and entering the world of marketing, Rukiat leaned more into her love of science fiction, technology and digital culture. Combined with her love of gender studies, she is now exploring the intersections between them all as a creator and through her fictional work.

		2037 : The Burden by Rukiat Ashawe Directed by Landé Belo
		Wednesday 10 - Saturday 20 July, 2024 At the Tower Theatre, Stoke Newington