In this timely production directed by the Lyric’s Artistic Director Sean Holmes, Simon Stephens’ unflinching and incendiary play Herons returns to the London stage, 15 years after its premiere.

Rife with dark humour and menace, Herons portrays the story of 14-year-old Billy, tormented in life by vicious local bullies. Humiliated beyond endurance, the adolescent violence he experiences drives him to pursue a disturbing act of vengeance.

Led by recent stars of the Lyric Hammersmith stage Sophia Decaro and Max Gill, and recently joined by actor and comedian Ed Gaughan, Herons represents the tale of some brutalised no-hopers – and, in turn, a witty hymn for hope.