FULL casting has been announced for Swive [Elizabeth]. Created by Ella Hickson and Natalie Abrahami, it runs in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse from Friday, December 6, 2019 to Saturday, February 15, 2020.

The line up includes Nina Cassells, Abigail Cruttenden, Michael Gould and Colin Tierney.

Swive (archaic, transitive): To copulate with (a woman); (archaic, transitive, dialectal): To cut a crop in a sweeping or rambling manner, hence to reap; cut for harvest.

This new play will shine candlelight on the ways and means by which women in power negotiate patriarchal pressure in order to get their way.

Elizabeth I was a political mastermind and monarchic force who reigned supreme for 45 years, and yet she still felt that her power ultimately resided in her beauty. Swive explores power, sex, intimacy, solitude and desire, highlighting the savage pressure that women are under to sell themselves on their least interesting quality.

Nina Cassells graduated from The Brit School last year. Her recent theatre credits include The Crucible (The Yard) and Feed (Theatre Témoin). Her credits while training include Everyman, Richard III, The Seagull and DNA.

Abigail Cruttenden’s recent theatre credits include Black Chiffon (Park Theatre), Her Naked Skin (Salisbury Theatre), An Enemy of the People (Chichester Festival Theatre) and Accolade (St James’ Theatre). Her screen work includes Not Going Out, in which she appeared regularly as Anna, Fresh Meat and Benidorm (TV); Denial and The Theory of Everything (film).

Michael Gould returns to the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse having starred in Michael Longhurst’s ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore in 2014. His other recent theatre credits include Dealing with Clair (Orange Tree Theatre), The Writer (Almeida Theatre) and The Jungle and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Young Vic). His recent television work includes There She Goes, Manhunt and Black Earth Rising. He has also appeared in the films Radioactive, Undergods and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Colin Tierney returns to the Globe having previously performed in Nick Bagnall’s The Last Days of Troy in 2014. His recent theatre credits include The Odyssey: Missing Presumed Dead, The Misanthrope (Liverpool Everyman), The Father (Bath Theatre Royal/Tricycle Theatre), Britannia Waves the Rules (Royal Exchange) and Betrayal (Sheffield Crucible). His screen work includes Vera and Silent Witness (TV); Nowhere Boy and The Ombudsman (film).

Ella Hickson is an award-winning writer whose work has been performed throughout the UK and abroad. Her most recent credits include ANNA (National Theatre) and The Writer and Oil (Almeida Theatre). She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and twice a MacDowell Fellow.

Natalie Abrahami’s directing credits include ANNA (National Theatre), Machinal (Almeida Theatre), and The Meeting (Chichester Festival Theatre). She ran the Gate Theatre from 2007 to 2012 with Carrie Cracknell.

Swive [Elizabeth] is directed by Natalie Abrahami, designed by Ben Stones and composed by Angus MacRae, with movement direction by Anna Morrissey. Associate movement director is Sian Williams and candle consultant is Prema Mehta.

Image: Swive [Elizabeth]. Photo credit: Sebastian Nevols.

Captioned Performance: January 9 at 7:30pm.

Audio Described Performance: January 18 at 2pm.

Relaxed Performance: February 8 at 2pm.

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