A gripping story of family, race and the American Dream.
A Headlong, Leeds Playhouse, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and HOME Manchester production
Directed by Daniel Bailey
"You born with two strikes on you before you come to the plate."
Troy is a former baseball player who could’ve gone pro. He spends his days collecting garbage and his evenings spinning stories for family and friends. He is funny, charismatic and fiercely proud. He’s also a man with flaws, shaped by a lifetime battling a world that denies his dreams. And the scars run deep.
His wife, Rose, sees America changing. She dares to believe life can be different and dreams that their son, Cory, will have the freedom that Troy never did. But as Rose works to break the cycles holding her family back, Troy’s frustration and bitterness threatens to tear them apart.
Alive with rhythms of blues and jazz, humour and heartbreak, Fences is August Wilson’s Pulitzer prize-winning masterpiece. Set in the 1950’s, it is a timeless and deeply human portrait of grief, love and what it means to be a family in post-war Black America.
Our associate partner Headlong returns to the stage with August Wilson's landmark play, Fences. One of the defining plays of the 20th century, it returns to the UK for the first time in over a decade in a vital new production directed by award-winning director Daniel Bailey (Red Pitch, West End).
This production is generously supported by Charles Holloway OBE.
August Wilson’s Fences is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd. www.concordtheatricals.co.uk
Behind the scenes of the August Wilson's Fences photoshoot
Meet the Director and Designer
A powerful piece of theatreThe Reviews Hub (For Headlong's A Raisin in the Sun, 2024)
Urgent, fascinating... a moral thrillerWhatsOnStage (For Headlong's A Midsummer Night's Dream, 2026)
Cast
- TROY - Ray Fearon
- ROSE - Madeline Appiah
- LYONS - Michael Ahomka
- CORY - Josh Tedeku
- GABRIEL - Simon-Anthony Rhoden
- BONO - Everal A Walsh
Creatives
- Writer – AUGUST WILSON
- Director – DANIEL BAILEY
- Set and Costume Designer – LILY ARNOLD
- Composer and Sound Designer – KHALIL MADOVI
- Lighting Designer – JAI MORJARIA
- Movement Director – SHELLEY MAXWELL
- Fight Director - KEV MCCURDY
- Voice & Dialect Coach - AUNDREA FUDGE
- WHAM Supervisor - DOMINIQUE HAMILTON
- Associate Director - AMBER RUBY
- Associate Designer - EMILY KING
- Casting Director – HEATHER BASTEN CDG
Content advisories
Contains themes of death, injury, and implied sexual assault. There is occasional strong and racially explicit language, including use of the n-word.
