West London new writing theatre the Bush, back to normal following its brief interlude without lighting, will stage Joel Horwood’s I Caught Crabs In Walberswick from 11 November to 6 December (press night 13 November).
First performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year, Horwood’s play takes place on a sweltering summer’s day on the eve of the final GCSE exam for three students. Best mates Fitz and Wheeler are fishing for crabs on a bridge in sleepy Walberswick when they are ambushed by Dani, the fittest girl on the beach. Wheeler is a high-flying comprehensive kid destined for university; football-mad Fitz is struggling to cope with his dysfunctional father and his school studies; and posh girl Dani feels misunderstood by her neurotic mum. What follows is a crazy 24 hours that changes the lives of the three 16-year-olds forever.
I Caught Crabs In Walberswick has a cast of Andrew Barron, Aaron Foy, Harry Hepple, Gemma Soul and Rosie Thomson. They are directed by Lucy Kerbel, who has previously directed at the Young Vic, Old Vic and Latitude Festival.
Playwright Horwood’s other work includes Mikey The Pikey and Food, both award-winners at previous Edinburgh Fringe Festivals.
I Caught Crabs In Walberswick is produced by Eastern Angles, the regional touring theatre company for the East of England, with the High Tide Festival, which sources new work by emerging playwrights.
The production follows the Bush’s Broken Space Season, an inventive response by the theatre to a temporary lighting problem caused by a series of leaks, in which a selection of monologues, short plays and ghost stories were staged as the natural light fell each evening. I Caught Crabs In Walberswick will be staged with full lighting, though a spokeswoman from the Bush said the theatre will now be fundraising for a new lighting rig.
The production is recommended for theatregoers aged 16 and over.
CB