Tokens Of Affection has its London Premiere at Waterloo East Theatre

AWARD WINNING PLAYWRIGHT MAUREEN LAWRENCE’S RIVETING PLAY SHOWS FROM 5TH FEBRUARY

‘These few girls, they’re probably the most important people in the whole place. Because nobody wants to be in their shoes – with nothing to lose.’

WEBSITE: www.waterlooeast.co.uk

Set in a special teaching unit for the containment of violent or maladjusted girls in Bradford in the nineteen-eighties, this witty and disarmingly charming play offers a peek into this chaotic world through the once rose tinted eyes of a recently qualified social care professional.

The day centre is a place of confused limbo, with its only clear goal being to keep the girls off the streets. The girls themselves are lost but together they find small glimmers of hope through their humour and wit, an intrinsic of the plays’ younger characters as, even though almost broken by circumstances, their resilience is astounding. The small tokens of affection can be found in the very human interactions between these disturbed children and their over-worked and under-supported carers.

Since 2016, school violence has been increasing once more (45 schools across England gave fixed-term exclusions to at least one in five pupils in 2016-2017). Tokens feels as relevant today as when it was written over thirty years ago. This play forces the audience to take notice of children who have fallen through the cracks of the system and have been left abandoned.

This challenging yet funny production by Persever Productions will leave audiences unable to forget the girls who have so easily been disregarded by the system created to care for them.

Cast

Debbie – Grace Clarke
Kelly – Eliza Glock
Liane – Elise Carman
Andrea – Didi Cederstrom
Annette – Jennifer Wiltsie
Nancy – Anna Kirke
Gillian – Lindsey Scott

Creative Team

Playwright – Maureen Lawrence
Director – Charlie Barker
Assistant Director – Elizabeth Leemann
Designer – Hugo Aguirre
Stage Manager – Pip Snow

LISTINGS

5th to 24th February

Show Times:
Tue to Sat at 7.30pm
Matinee Sun at 4pm

Running time approx.120 mins plus an interval

Tickets: £17.50/ £15 Concession*

Preview 5 & 6 Feb All Tickets £14

Allocated seating. Strictly No Latecomers Admitted

*Students: Unwaged: Over 60’s: Equity: Disabled: Lambeth Resident

Ages 18+