The Secretaries Freesheet

COMING UP...
CHASING HARES
16 JUL – 13 AUG
A factory worker in West Bengal risks everything to expose the
injustice of factory conditions and rumours of child exploitation
in the world premiere of Sonali Bhattacharyya’s award-winning
new play. Directed by Milli Bhatia. A Young Vic and Theatre
Uncut co-production.
JUN
WHO KILLED MY FATHER
7 – 24 SEP
Written by Édouard Louis and adapted for the stage by multiaward-winning
director Ivo van Hove, Who Killed My Father
tells the story of a life marked by social deprivation in the north
of France. An Internationaal Theater Amsterdam production in
association with Young Vic.
MANDELA
28 NOV – 4 FEB 2023
A revolutionary new musical and world premiere that tells
the story of Mandela the man and Mandela the movement.
Developed in proud partnership with Nandi Mandela, Luvuyo
Madasa and the Mandela family.
OF THE CUT
30 JUL – 6 AUG
A magical realism promenade performance piece which
shines a light on the many lives lived on and around The Cut
and explores what the next 25 years has in store. Written by
Yasmin Joseph and the Company, directed by Philip J Morris.
A Taking Part production from Young Vic and TEA films.
A FIVE LESBIAN
BROTHERS PLAY
WRITTEN BY
MAUREEN ANGELOS,
BABS DAVY,
DOMINIQUE DIBBELL,
PEG HEALEY,
AND LISA KRON
DIRECTED BY
DEIRDRE
MCLAUGHLIN
JOURNEYS THE PODCAST
25 JUL – 25 DEC
A six-part podcast series celebrating local heroes
in Lambeth and Southwark and uncovering stories
from the Young Vic community.
YV UNPACKED: I WONDER IF…
TOURING 10 – 21 OCT
THE YOUNG VIC 24 – 9 OCT
Fusing dance, music and dialogue to explore the
human relationships in its many forms, I Wonder If…
is a dazzling new play directed by Daniel Bailey and
devised by the company.
For two decades, the Genesis Foundation has provided vital support to
directors participating in the Young VIc’s artist development programs,
including the Genesis Future Directors Award. Deirdre McLaughlin is a
Genesis Future Directors Award recipient.

THE FIVE LESBIAN BROTHERS WRITERS
For over thirty years the Five Lesbian Brothers have been known for creating provocative lesbian theater for the masses using
the fine feminist art of collaboration. They are Maureen Angelos, Babs Davy, Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey, and Lisa Kron.
They emerged from the bosom of the WOW Café Theater in 1989.
Their repertoire includes five full-length plays, Voyage to Lesbos, Brave Smiles, The Secretaries, Brides of the Moon, and
Oedipus at Palm Springs, as well as numerous event-specific, show-stopping acts. In their performing heyday, the Brothers
appeared regularly Off-Broadway, Off-Off- Broadway, and beyond at theaters such as New York Theatre Workshop, the Public
Theater, the WOW Cafe Theatre, Downtown Art Company, Performance Space 122, Dixon Place, La Mama, the Kitchen,
and the Whitney Museum of American Art at Phillip Morris. They also regularly toured the glorious queer and queer-friendly
theater and performance circuit that included San Francisco’s Theatre Rhinoceros, Alice B. Theatre in Seattle, London’s
Drill Hall, Highways in L.A., Diverse Works in Houston, Theater Offensive in Boston, Sushi in San Diego, and, of course, the
legendary Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. Their work has been honored with Obie, Bessie, Lambda Literary, and New
York Innovative Theatre awards. The Brothers’ plays are now a vibrant part of the LGBTQ theater canon, taught regularly in
colleges and universities and delighting and provoking new audiences through the scores of productions that continue to be
mounted by intrepid, trouble-making, fun-loving companies all over the world.
DEIRDRE McLAUGHLIN DIRECTOR
Deirdre McLaughlin is a multi-award-winning London-based director and dramaturg. She has worked in the UK and USA
since 2010, across a range of platforms and disciplines, with a focus on developing new work and interdisciplinary practices
integrating creative access.
Her professional credits include: Shakespeare’s Globe, National Theatre Studio, Old Vic Labs, Theatre Royal Haymarket,
SPILL Festival, Arts Admin & Toynbee Studios, Tempting Failure, Unlimited, artsdepot, Camden People’s Theatre, Soho
Theatre, The Place, Stratford Circus, Battersea Arts Centre, Finborough Theatre, Cambridge Junction, Panic Lab, The Yard,
Hackney Showroom, Katzspace, The Pleasance (Islington/Edinburgh), East Street Arts (Leeds), Dance City (Newcastle),
Unity Theatre (Liverpool), Williamstown Theatre Festival, Pittsburgh Playhouse, Pittsburgh Irish Classical Theatre, Quantum
Theatre, Powerhouse Theatre and New York Stage & Film as well as award-winning productions at Edinburgh Festival
Fringe (World Fringe Alliance Award 2018), Adelaide Fringe (Best Cabaret Weekly and Overall Innovation Award 2017) and
VAULT Festival (Origins Award 2018).
ABOUT THE GENESIS FUTURE DIRECTORS AWARD
Through the Genesis Future Directors Award, the Young Vic supports early-career directors to explore their craft by
developing work with an audience. We provide recipient directors with mentorship alongside a developmental production
to take creative risks, and to realise their artistic vision in a fully supported environment. The Genesis Future Directors
Award is made possible by the Genesis Foundation.
ABOUT THE GENESIS FOUNDATION
The Genesis Foundation has supported the Young Vic’s Directors Program since its inception nearly twenty years ago and
currently funds the Genesis Future Directors Awards and the Genesis Fellow. Founded by John Studzinski CBE in 2001, the
Foundation has donated more than £20 million to the arts over the past 20 years. Through its funding and partnership model,
it has enabled opportunities for thousands of young artists in theatre and music, building both their experience and their
resilience. Its main focus is on partnerships with leading arts organisations such as the Young Vic, National Theatre, Almeida
Theatre, and The Sixteen, and on training programmes that equip emerging artists for life as a creative professional.
In 2020, it launched the Covid-19 Artists Fund, an emergency response to help freelancers facing hardship, and the £1 million
Genesis Kickstart Fund, to create future-facing projects for outstanding freelance talent in the creative sector across the UK.
For more information, please visit genesisfoundation.org.uk
CAST
Dawn/Buzz Georgia Frost
Susan/Mr Ron Kembunkscher Natasha Jayetileke
A Five Lesbian
Brothers play
written by Maureen
Angelos, Babs Davy,
Dominique Dibbell,
Peg Healey, and
Lisa Kron
Director
Deirdre McLaughlin
Set and Costume
Designer
Rhys Jarman
Lighting Designer
Stacey Sandford
Sound Designer
Mwen
Creative Captioner
Rachel Sampley
Peaches/Sandy Francesca Mills
Patty Jessica Murrain
Ashley/Hank Tessa Parr
Movement Director
Sita Thomas
Intimacy and
Fight Director
Yarit Dor
Voice and Dialect
Coach
Clarissa Hardaker
Casting Director
Polly Jerrold
Wellbeing Practitioner
Sam Adams
Dramaturg
Matilda Ibini
Creative Access
Worker
Alex Marlow
CREATIVE TEAM
R&D Research
Assistant
Esmee West-Agboola
Consultants
Kelsie Acton,
Rachel Bagshaw,
Karina Jones,
Reece Lyons,
Zoe McWhinney
Production Manager
Chloe Stally-Gibson
Stage Manager
Fiona Kennedy
Deputy Stage Manager
Lavinia Serban
Assistant Stage
Manager
Chay West
Captions Operator
Eli Banfield
Production Assistant
Kirk-Ann Roberts
Costume Supervisor
Sarah Hamza
Alterations Technician
Rae Hildbrand
Running Wardrobe
Manager
Ysanne Tidd
Wigs, Hair and
Make Up Technician
Emily Mortimore
Work Experience
Student
Clara Head
We would like to thank
The Five Lesbian Brothers, Graeae Theatre Company, Robyn Keynes, Jasmine Sandalli, Jennifer Tang,
Quiplash, Tom Ryalls, Selina Busby, Jessica Bowles, Lynda Dunlop, Amelia Stubberfield, Sarah Allen,
Sam Campbell, Josie Shipp, John Kurzynowski, Gigi Zahir, Erin Hutching and Caroline Richardson.
With Thanks to Franco Manca for their support.
Public Support
Season Support
The Young Vic’s 2022 season is also supported by the Genesis Foundation and IHS Markit.
We gratefully acknowledge Ian Burford and Alec Cannell for generously supporting the Young Vic’s mission.