Miss Myrtle’s Garden, a wonderfully warm, witty, and life-affirming exploration of how we acknowledge the past, to enable us to confront life head-on in the present.This world premiere production, written by Danny James King, is directed by Bush Theatre’s Artistic Director, Taio Lawson. The cast is Michael Ahomka-Lindsay, Mensah Bediako, Diveen Henry, Gary Lilburn, and Elander Moore.
The play draws on themes including dementia, same sex relationships, and the importance of access to outside space for all. The disparity of this access is stark, with Black people nearly four times as likely to have no access to a garden as white people, and those in unskilled and semi-skilled jobs, casual workers, and the unemployed being almost three times as likely to be without a garden as those in professional or managerial positions.
Miss Myrtle is a sharp-tongued woman with an unkempt garden in a rapidly changing neighbourhood. To top it off, her grandson Rudy and his ‘close friend’ Jason need a place to stay, and local drunk Eddie keeps relieving himself against her garden wall.
Rudy is pushing for answers about the past, but Myrtle doesn’t want to be troubled by duppies – she just wants some peace and quiet. As her brain starts to fight against her, far more complicated questions about grief, love, and understanding demand to be confronted, but she’s running out of time.
