Mr Loverman

Mr Loverman description

About the Show

Barrington Walker is a husband, father and grandfather, dapper, charming and respected in his Hackney community. He is also carrying something he has never said aloud: for sixty years he has been in a secret relationship with his best friend Morris. Mr Loverman follows what that silence has cost and what it would take to end it.

The story spans six decades and moves between Antigua and modern-day London. It is adapted from Bernardine Evaristo's 2013 novel, written before she won the Booker Prize for Girl, Woman, Other, and this is its first stage version. The production runs in the Lyttelton Theatre.

Cast and Creatives

The adaptation is by Natasha Gordon, whose Nine Night premiered at the National Theatre in 2018 and transferred to the West End, making her the first Black British woman to have a play staged there. The director is Paulette Randall MBE, a former artistic director of Talawa Theatre Company and an associate director of the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony.

Danny Sapani plays Barrington and Gary Beadle plays Morris. Sapani is known on screen for Black Panther and Killing Eve, and Beadle has worked widely across British stage and television.

Why You Should Watch It

A funny, tender portrait of a life lived in two halves, and of a man deciding at last to be himself. Book tickets to see it at the National Theatre.

Playing at Lyttelton - National Theatre (venue info)