Caryl Churchill’s modern classic is presented by Lost Text/Found Space at the University of Westminster’s Ambika P3 this August.
Joan can’t sleep. She hears screaming outside. Her auntie Harper says it’s an owl, but she’s not sure. She thought she saw her uncle in the distance, wielding an iron bar.
Years later, the screaming hasn’t stopped. The whole world is at war, the animals and birds too. They say the crocodiles are always in the wrong, that deer terrorise shopping malls, and that all the wasps have to go.
But the deer have been with Joan and Harper for weeks, their goodness shining through their soft brown eyes. So what then is the truth?
Confronting our deepest fears, Caryl Churchill’s extraordinary play depicts a chilling world where everyone is at war, and not even the birds in the trees or the river below can be trusted. 25 years since its debut at the Royal Court Theatre, London-based site-specific theatre company Lost Text/Found Space presents Caryl Churchill’s modern classic Far Away at the University of Westminster’s Ambika P3 space from 5 August
This new site-specific production, part of Camden Fringe, promises an immersive and intimate experience that brings new life to “the most significant play of this millennium” (Simon Stephens). Ambika P3, ‘One of the capital’s hidden and most exciting new spaces’ – The Guardian, is a space for contemporary art and architecture, developed from the vast former concrete construction hall at the University of Westminster. It presents a public programme of solo and group exhibitions, education projects, talks, and events dedicated to innovation, experimentation, and learning. Far Away will be the first theatre production in this unique space.
Ambika P3 is one of London’s most exciting and distinctive cultural spaces, located within the University of Westminster’s Marylebone campus. Originally built as a concrete testing hall, this remarkable brutalist space has been transformed, the venue’s industrial architecture and unique atmosphere make it the perfect setting for innovative, site-specific productions. With its soaring concrete columns, dramatic lighting possibilities, and raw architectural beauty, Ambika P3 offers audiences an immersive experience unlike traditional theatre spaces.
Lost Text/Found Space makes site-based performances in hidden spaces for adventurous audiences. They create layered performances that are multi-sensory, engaging, and playful. The company work in unique, found spaces with lost texts, bringing unheard voices from the past to the present. That sounds just right for bringing the most from this play.
Director Rebecca McCutcheon is the founding member of Lost Text/Found Space, directing Still Lives, Til We Meet In England, A Testimony and a Silence, and Cary, the Mariam Cycles, as well as Creative Director of the Making Connections seasons in Peckham’s Old Waiting Room, Rebecca trained at Goldsmiths’ College & Royal Holloway, University of London and worked at the RSC, the Almeida Theatre, and the National Theatre. Rebecca directed acclaimed productions of Marlowe’s Dido Queen of Carthage at The House of St Barnabas in Soho and Kensington Palace, The Round Dance by Arthur Schnitzler at the Roundhouse, and Still Life by Noel Coward at the Aldwych Tube Station, as co-founder of Angels in the Architecture.
Lorna Dale plays Joan. Lorna is a Northern-born actor from Stoke-on-Trent, inspired by her northern roots and elevating stories from regional voices. She trained at The Oxford School of Drama, graduating in 2021. Her recent credits include, the leading role in All the Colours, a Brighton-based film on gang violence currently in post-production, 39 and Counting, discussing the impact of femicide and violence against women at The Park Theatre, London and North Wall, Oxford, and numerous research and development for upcoming projects ahead of their debut and a month long run at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Samuel Gosrani plays Todd. Samuel graduated from Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2019. Theatre credits include Make Good: The Post Office Scandal (Pentabus Theatre), Robin Hood (Regents Park Open Air Theatre), Hedda Gabler, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Machinal and Rage (The Richard Burton Theatre Company), The Lovely Bones (Birmingham Rep Theatre), Waste (Almeida), Romeo & Juliet (Belgrade Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Hackney Empire). On television, Sam appeared in Without Sin (ITVX), and on film in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Radio credits include Foiled (Rubber Chicken); Gallifrey Time War Volume 2 (Big Finish Productions)
Lizzie Hopley plays Harper. Lizzie was born in Liverpool and trained at RADA. Her stage work includes The Taming of the Shrew and Princess Essex in the Globe Theatre’s Summer Season 2025, the RSC’s Roaring Girls Season, an international tour of Tis Pity She’s a Whore with Cheek by Jowl, USA tour of The Taming of the Shrew with AFTLS, playing Kate, a No 1 tour of Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party and The Audience at Southampton Nuffield in which she played Margaret Thatcher.
Tickets priced £20 (£10 concession), plus booking fee can be booked at https://FarAwayProduction.eventbrite.co.uk
Image (c) Ellie Kurtz
