8 May 2024

Cast announced for world premiere of Tell Me How It Ends at the Everyman. 

The Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse Theatres deepen their commitment to emerging creatives and the development of talent from the Liverpool City Region with the world premiere of Tell Me How It Ends written by Tasha Dowd, a graduate of the award-winning Young Everyman Playhouse (YEP) programme. At the Everyman from Wednesday 12 to Saturday 22 June, the cast is announced as Luke Sookdeo and Emmy Stonelake.

Set in Liverpool as the AIDS epidemic threatens a generation, Tell Me How It Ends is about two queer lives intertwining as they each learn to love living - finding the joy in being bound together during a time of growing uncertainty.

Writer Tasha Dowd says: “It’s really an honour to be the winner of the Homotopia Award this year and to have my first play staged at the Everyman! This show is really important to me, it's about how our Community finds its way back to each other, that everyone has somebody, and despite every hardship thrown our way, we continue to live and grow and change for the better. I hope audiences find it a joyous and uplifting tale of a beautifully messy friendship that everyone can relate to.”

A joyous and uplifting journey through bedrooms and nightclubs, bad oysters, surprises and secrets, Tell Me How It Ends tells the story of Aster who like many Lesbian women did during the epidemic, reaches out to help and finds herself at Marc’s bedside. Together, these two people deemed polar opposites, laugh, dance and argue their way into their uncertain future.

A graduate of Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts and making his professional stage debut, LUKE SOOKDEO plays Marc. The role of Aster is played by EMMY STONELAKE who has previously appeared at the Liverpool Everyman in Beauty and the Beast and has credits including The Fair Maid of the West (RSC); Pride and Prejudice *Sort Of (UK Tour); A Christmas Carol (Sherman Theatre); and Urinetown The Musical (RBC/Stratford Circus). 

Director GITIKA BUTTOO has recently finished her tenure as Staff Director at The National Theatre and has been appointed as a Regional Associate of Tamasha. Her credits include The Father & The Assassin by Anupama Chandrasekhar (The National Theatre), Love N Stuff by Tanika Gupta (Oldham Coliseum, Watford Palace & Sheffield Theatres), nominated for Best Stage Production at the Asian Media Awards; and The Jungle Book (Storyhouse, Chester). HELENA ASCOUGH, currently on Graeae’s Beyond programme (an Associate Company of the Everyman & Playhouse), is Assistant Director.

Tell Me How It Ends is designed by KATIE SCOTT, an award-winning Designer based in the North West, who upon graduating from The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, was the inaugural recipient of the Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Prize for Theatre Design, designing Held by Joe Ward Munrow. Lighting Design is by JACK COLEMAN, who’s credits for the Everyman & Playhouse include Our Town Needs A Nandos and Love, Liverpool; with Sound Design by ANNIE MAY FLETCHER, nominated for a WhatsOnStage Award 2023 for Hedwig & The Angry Inch (Leeds Playhouse/HOME). GRACE GOULDING is Movement Director and Choreographer, whose credits for the Everyman & Playhouse include A Billion Times I Love You, Love Liverpool and numerous productions for Young Everyman Playhouse. 

There are accessible performances, with Captioning available on Thursday 13 June at 7.30pm and Audio Description on Thursday 20 June at 7.30pm. Tickets priced from £11 to £26 are available here.