Lord’s, present day. The Women’s Cricket World Cup: England versus India. There’s a rain delay. Stuck in the same locker room together, tensions mount, ambitions are laid bare and a whole new tactical game begins.
Calcutta, 1800. Two British administrators encounter challenges on the field of play that threaten the entire regime.
In this game of integrity and power, past and present collide.
And so the scene is set for the UK première of Kate Attwell’s Testmatch.
Aiyana Bartlett plays India Two and Daanya. This marks her UK debut. Her theatre credits include A Hundred Words for Snow (Gothenburg English Studio Theatre). Her television credits include Piglets.
Aarushi Ganju plays India one and Messenger. Her theatre credits Unlocking Canons House (Canons House), Roobaroo (The Space), Henry VII (The show must go on(line)) and Face Off (The UnDisposables). Her television credits include The Three-Body Problem.
Haylie Jones plays England Three and Two. Her theatre credits include Lear (Hope Mill Theatre, Shakespeare North Playhouse), Romeo and Juliet, Little Women, Stig of the Dump (Grosvenor Park Open Air theatre), and A Brew, A Terrace And The 184 (Oldham Coliseum Theatre). Her television credits include Blind Spot, Stay Close, Coronation Street, and The Cup; and for film Wanderland, Public House and Jamais Vu.
Tanya Katyal plays India Three and Abhi. Her theatre credits include The Empress (RSC); and for television Eternally Confused and Eager For Love.
Bea Svistunenko plays England One and One. Her theatre credits include The Tempest (Shakespeare’s Globe), Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet (Guildford Shakespeare Company), and A Very Expensive Poison (The Old Vic). Her television credits include 3 Body Problem, Litvinenko, Industry; and for film, Beetlejuice 2 and Cost of Living.
Mia Turner plays England Two and Memsahib. Her theatre credits include Boys (Tabard Theatre).
Diane Page returns to the Orange Tree to direct for a third time, following revered productions of Dael Orlandersmith’s Yellowman in 2022, and as the 2021 JMK Award winner, directing Statements After An Arrest Under The Immorality Act. Her other credits include The Tempest, Julius Caesar (Shakespeare’s Globe.), Lost and Found (Royal Opera House), Out West (Co- director, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre).
Orange Tree Theatre, 1 Clarence Street, Richmond, TW9 2SA from 24 April until 18 May. Tickets from £15.
Booking: 020 8940 3633 (Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm)
