Fences

August Wilson's 1950s drama Fences, staged at the Lyric Hammersmith in a new production directed by Daniel Bailey. The play follows a Pittsburgh family whose tensions rise as old grievances resurface.

Troy Maxson, a former ballplayer turned refuse worker, has survived a brush with death, yet the past keeps catching up with him. On the streets of Pittsburgh he is a charming talker who spins stories and cracks jokes, but at home the pressure steadily builds. His wife Rose holds the family together, and she hopes their son Cory will be able to step into a changing world with more freedom than Troy had. When their ambitions collide and tempers flare, the Maxsons move towards a reckoning that threatens to reshape everything they know.

Wilson's play, set in the 1950s, is presented here in a new production directed by Daniel Bailey, whose previous work includes Red Pitch in the West End. The story examines family loyalty, unfulfilled ambition and the barriers that people build around themselves and others, a theme introduced in the opening lines of the text.

The Lyric Hammersmith is a theatre in London that hosts concerts and shows throughout the year. Several performances are scheduled, including relaxed, captioned, audio described and BSL interpreted sessions.