Enlightenment at Sue Townsend Theatre

When Lia and Nick’s son disappears when overseas, all they have is an email that he was thinking of going to Jakarta, leaving them with their own grief and uncertainty. And then a stranger appears, uncannily like their son, covered in scars and holding Adam’s passport. . .

Enlightenment is a powerful study of parental grief and of hope amidst uncertainty.

One of my greatest joys is directing actors-in-training. The rehearsal room is more than just a playground but a laboratory full of whizzes and bangs where actors experiment and make exciting new discoveries for the first time. This year I had the pleasure of directing ‘Enlightenment’ by Shelagh Stephenson at Sue Townsend Theatre with the Leicester College BA Acting students for their final year production, and I couldn’t have asked for a better cast. The entire production was enormous fun and delightfully dark, and we got to play around with a container of breakaway bottles (always enjoyable!) for the play’s dramatic climax.

Kathryn Marper and Taiven Allen

“Enlightenment was well performed, and the production value was spot on. The cast were a breath of fresh air to watch. Bravo to these brave new wonders.”

★★★★
Amarjeet Singh (Fairy Powered Productions)

We had a fantastic team around us including Matthew Trott on lighting, Luke Davies on design and special effects makeup by Bethany Simpson.

As with most theatre productions, there is a sense of togetherness that forms in rehearsal that makes finishing a show especially bittersweet. I’m sad to say goodbye to this play but excited for the graduating actors and the bright futures ahead of them.

Harrison Deaves, Kathryn Marper and Isha Gilbert