The cast is GRACE SAIF (Ballet Shoes, 13 Reasons Why) as Kala, ELLA BRYANT (professional debut) as Jo, GEORGINA RICH (Heartstopper) as Laura / Christine and KEVIN TRAINOR (The Octoroon) as Elio.
The creative team is completed by Set Designer Georgia Wilmot, Costume Designer Emma Williams, Lighting Designer Hartley Kemp, Sound Designer Tom Smith, Composer Jonny Berliner, Magic Consultant John Bulleid, Voice and Accent Coach Gurkiran Kaur, Assistant Director Muniira Ali and Casting Director Nadine Rennie.
‘Without us here, though, can you imagine how much worse it would be?’
It’s 2024. After years circling the globe delivering aid, Jo has built a career supporting those most in need — a good person doing good things.
But 75 years after her grandfather got the idea of “international development” into President Truman’s inaugural speech, global inequality is worse than ever. Eight billionaires now hold the same wealth as the poorest half of humanity.
And when Jo meets an activist who is fighting with her life for her nation’s future, she can’t shake the feeling that the system she passionately believes in might be part of the problem.
Christine Bacon, writer and co-Artistic Director of ice&fire, said:
“At ice&fire we are motivated by working towards a world where human rights matter. Reading The Divide essentially re-wired my brain and left me reeling with the scale of global inequality, but also with my own ignorance about the forces behind it. Bringing this story to the stage invites a non-specialist audience into that expansive conversation and into a story that challenges us to rethink some of our culture’s most widely held beliefs about charity and justice.”
Jason Hickel, author of The Divide, said:
“I wrote The Divide to tell the story of anti-colonial struggle – a 500-year fight for our collective humanity, which continues to this very day. I’m thrilled to see this story take shape now in theatre, bringing life and texture to a narrative that words alone can never hope to capture.”
