Alice Sebold's

The Lovely Bones

Adapted by Bryony Lavery

Writer 
Alice Sebold
Adapted by 
Bryony Lavery

Director
Ola Ince

Location
The Carne Studio 

View cast sheet

View relaxed guide 

Dates
Monday 2 December at 7:30pm**
Tuesday 3 December at 7pm
Wednesday 4 December at 2pm
Wednesday 4 December at 7pm*
Thursday 5 December at 7pm

*This will be a relaxed performance. Find out more.

**Please note the start time for the opening night's performance is now 7:30pm.

The running time is approximately 1 hour 55 minutes, including an interval.

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About the show

Susie Salmon is just like any other young girl. She wants to be beautiful, adores her charm bracelet and has a crush on a boy from school. There’s one big difference though – Susie is dead. Now she can only observe while her family manage their grief in their different ways. Her father, Jack is obsessed with identifying the killer. Her mother, Abigail is desperate to create a different life for herself. And her sister, Lindsay is discovering the opposite sex with experiences that Susie will never know. Susie is desperate to help them and there might be a way of reaching them. 

Alice Sebold’s novel The Lovely Bones is a unique coming-of-age tale that captured the hearts of readers throughout the world. Award-winning playwright Bryony Lavery has adapted it for this unforgettable play about life after loss.

Ola is a critically acclaimed and award winning theatre, film, and opera director; based in London. Her work focuses on power, race and injustice. 

She is the winner of the BBC Performing Arts Fellow Award (2015), Genesis Future Director Award (2016), h100 Theatre & Performance Award (2018), Elle list’s ‘50 Game Changers of Now’ (2019) and the Peter Hall Bursary Award (2020). 

Since graduating from Rose Bruford College, with a First Class Honours BA in Theatre Directing, she has worked at a number of prestigious Theatres such: Royal Opera House, Donmar Warehouse, Young Vic, Royal Court, National Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, St. Ann’s Warehouse (Brooklyn New York) and Lunt-Fontane Theatre (Broadway). 

Ola was the International Associate Director of Tina Turner the Musical; creating, casting and directing the productions in London, Hamburg, Broadway and Utrecht alongside Phyllida Lloyd; from 2018 to 2020. 

In 2016 Ola was Artistic Associate at the Lyric Hammersmith and Theatre Royal Stratford East. She was an Artistic Associate at the Royal Court Theatre from 2018-2022.

Ola has extensive experience working with new writing. In 2011 she worked at the Finborough Theatre as their Senior Reader and Resident assistant director, which gave her the opportunity to devour plays and assist in programming decisions. Ola then went on to read for the Bush Theatre, Bruntwood prize for playwriting and the George Devine Award for most promising playwright. 

She also has comprehensive experience working with young and vulnerable people. Ola has run workshops, facilitated projects, devised and directed plays, worked as a youth worker, a mentor and led directing materclasses for KS2-KS4, Post-16 and adults. She has worked for the Young Vic, Lyric Hammersmith, Unicorn Theatre, National Theatre, Company 3, the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology, The Acting Studio, Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, ALRA, Guildhall School of Music & Drama and RADA. 

Alice Sebold is the author of three #1 bestselling books, including Lucky, and the novels The Almost Moon and The Lovely Bones which, became a major motion picture in 2009. Her work has been translated into more than fifty languages and has appeared in The New York Times and The Guardian, among other publications. Her work is known for its exploration of trauma, grief, and resilience.

Sebold studied at Syracuse University and later earned an MFA from the University of California, Irvine.She is a member of the National Leadership Council for RAINN.org (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). She lives in California.

Bryony Lavery is a playwright whose work includes Frozen, which won the TMA best play award, the Eileen Anderson Central Television award was produced at Birmingham Rep, then the National Theatre, then on Broadway where it was nominated for four Tony awards. Stockholm, for Frantic Assembly, won the Wolff-Whiting award for Best Play of 2008. Beautiful Burnout for The National Theatre of Scotland and Frantic Assembly received a Fringe First at Edinburgh, before productions in the UK, New York, Australia and New Zealand. Dirt was nominated for the Charles McArthur award for most outstanding play or musical of 2013, Washington DC. 

Recent work includes: The Believers [Frantic Assembly] Queen Coal [Sheffield Crucible] Treasure Island [National Theatre] 101 Dalmatians [Chichester Festival Theatre] Brideshead Revisited [York Theatre Royal/ETT] Our Mutual Friend [Hull Truck/City of Culture 2017], Balls [One Year Lease/Stages Theatre- Houston and NYC], The Lovely Bones [Birmingham Rep/ UK Tour] and The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage [Bridge Theatre]. 

She is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature, an honorary Doctor of Arts at De Montford University and an Associate Artist at Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Contains themes of death, loss, paedophilia, rape and murder.  

This amateur production of “The Lovely Bones” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd. www.concordtheatricals.co.uk 

Booking

Once you have booked a ticket, you will receive an email confirmation. Read up on our latest audience guidelines here.

Members of the industry: secure your complimentary seat by emailing the Box Office​​​ on [email protected]

Pricing and concessions 

Tickets cost £14, but we have £7 concessions tickets available to Hammersmith & Fulham residents, schools, students, or people who are over 65, under 18 or are on Job Seeker's Allowance. You'll just need to provide proof of your eligibility when you collect your tickets at the Box Office. We offer a complimentary ticket for carers, to book please call the box office on 020 8834 0500. If you belong to our Pathways Programme or work with any of our Pathways Partners you are entitled to complimentary tickets. Please contact the box office to book.

Accessibility 

If you have any additional requirements, you would like us to be aware of, please contact box office on 020 8834 0500. 

Booking your tickets 

Book your tickets online or by calling our box office on 020 8834 0500. 

Industry booking 

If you're a member of the industry, please email [email protected] to book your tickets. 

Ticket collection for in-person tickets

There is no need to collect tickets. You will be ticked off an attendance list on arrival. 

Refunds 

Unfortunately, all tickets are non-refundable.

Creative Team 

* LAMDA staff member or visiting artist

Director
Ola Ince*

Designer 
Carla Goodman*

Voice Director
Aundrea Fudge*

Movement Director
Gabrielle Nimo*

Fight & Intimacy Director
Enric Ortuño*

Puppetry Specialist
Kristin Fredricksson*

Costume Supervisor
Tabitha Stock*

Wardrobe Assistant 
Katie Kelson*

Producer
Rebecca Lyle*

Lighting Designer / Prod Lx
Heather Trevelyan

Sound Designer / PSE
James Knight

Musical Director
Tim Whiting*

Puppet Maker
Judith Hope*

Cast

Franny & Mrs Flannagan
Cassie Clark 

Lindsey Salmon
Brie Covington

Abigail Salmon
Samya De Meo

Susie Salmon
Phoenix Edwards

Samuel Heckler/Heavenly Girls
Mazlum Gul

Ray Singh & Holiday the Dog
Dilip Kumar

Ruana Singh/Heavenly Girls
Dishari Kargupta

Grandma Lynn & Cop
Mimi Harlow Robinson*

Len Fenerman
Caleb Mercer

Mr Harvey
Max Pink

​​​​​Ruth Connors
Ashnah Strongheart

Jack Salmon
Nigel Sudarkasa

Buckley Salmon/ Principal Caden/Heavenly Girls 
Beko Wood

Production Team 

* LAMDA staff member or visiting artist

Stage Manager on Book
Patrick McAneny

Assistant Stage Managers
Inaaya Abdullah
Phoenix Morgan

Production Manager
Amelia Thorpe