Maxine Peake will lead the cast of Avalanche: A Love Story, a new adaptation by Julia Leigh of her powerful memoir of the same name, at the Barbican Theatre this spring.
Peake, whose trailblazing career was recognised with the Outstanding Contribution To British Theatre award at the UK Theatre Awards last year, will star in the stage show of Avalanche, which follows one woman’s experiences with in-vitro fertilisation. Performances will begin on Saturday 27 April, running until Sunday 12 May.
The show will form the centrepiece of Fertility Fest 2019, an arts festival dedicated to the development of modern families and the science behind them. This year’s Fertility Fest begins Tuesday 23 April, presented in association with the Barbican.
In her Barbican debut, Maxine will portray a woman in her late 30s, deeply in love and ready to start a family. But their initial optimism when visiting the IVF clinic triggers a long and costly succession of medical procedures, nightly injections, rituals, hope and despair. Packed with compelling honesty and moments of black humour, Avalanche is inspired by Leigh’s story.
Maxine’s previous credits include roles in Black Mirror, The Theory Of Everything, Shamless, The Village and The Bisexual. She is perhaps best known for her pioneering roles at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, where she recently starred in Hamlet. Leigh, meanwhile, saw her debut novel The Hunter receive worldwide acclaim and awards.
Tickets for Avalanche are available through the Barbican’s website.