Alongside producer Grace Yu, the team outlined the vision for their debut production: a political, surrealist, five-night run of Sam Steiner’s Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons (2015) at the Burton Taylor Theatre. “This is really fresh writing,” says Alys. “It’s nice to do contemporary theatre [written] by young people. It brings a certain energy.”
The text is set in a world where language has been limited by a so-called ‘Hush Law’, and everyone is given a daily word limit. When Oliver and Bernadette start a relationship against this background of linguistic and political suppression, it’s not just their conflicting personalities that pose a problem.
“They have their own communication issues, regardless of the law. The law just crystallises an experience that was already there,” says Alys. “It genuinely would resonate with so many people, especially people in relationships,” Grace adds. “Communication issues are so important, and most people don’t even notice they’re there.”
Lemons is a play of two elements. Like a lemon, sliced in half: there’s the opposites-attract love story, and a political commentary on freedom of speech. Lighthouse’s performance homes in on the latter. “[The] different elements seem like they wouldn’t go hand in hand, [but] these exterior motions can leave such a devastating impact on our daily lives,” says Ivana.
“[The Hush Law is] always a shadow over them,” says Alys. The trio selected the play over summer, amidst the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation in June 2025. Alys recalls when Banksy’s mural, Royal Courts of Justice (2025), was immediately scrubbed. “Theatre is a tool of resistance,” she says. For Alys, Lemons is “scarily relevant.”
40 students auditioned for the roles of Oliver and Bernadette. “Call-backs were a nightmare,” the team recalls. “We did a workshop with every possible pairing, since the play depends on chemistry.” The team landed on Kit Rush in his debut performance as Oliver, who Alys describes as “an absolute blinder”, and Caeli Colgan as Bernadette, who Ivana describes as “a powerhouse.” Grace also mentions an exciting original score composed by Oliver Spooner.
Talking to Kit Rush and Caeli Colgan provided some insight into the leads of the two-hander. “On the surface of it, Oliver and Bernadette’s relationship might be described as the classic ‘opposites attract’,” says Colgan. “But actually I think part of the chemistry between the characters comes from their similarity.”
“They balance each other out,” explains Rush. “Oliver is charming and fun; Bernadette is hard-working and reserved. Are they a good match? The jury is out.”
“I think what makes them a good match is that they find each other exciting,” Colgan says. “What the Hush Law does is it transforms that excitement into frustration. Where before they might have enjoyed being challenged by one another, maintaining a relationship in 140 words a day simplifies the types of communication available, which forces everything they say into a kind of total bluntness.”
On the more demanding aspects of the play, Rush and Colgan cite different challenges. “The structure of the play is very fast paced because it is made up of lots of little vignette-like scenes in non-chronological order,” says Colgan. “It’s quite challenging to keep a clear sense of the narrative when it flits between pre and post Hush Law, but I’m hoping this also challenges the audience in an interesting and exciting way.” For Rush? “Actually, doing a two hander – I didn’t realise how many lines there were!”
“The play is rejecting realism,” Ivana describes. “We’re trying to experiment with different mediums.” The team wanted to add many “absurd surrealist elements”. They plan on using a montage, projected onto the walls of the Burton Taylor, which they hope indicates “how the sense of being watched can be traumatic, in a way.”
The Burton Taylor is a recurring topic in my conversation with Lighthouse Productions. “It is a very small space, as we all know,” laughs Grace. “Having acted in the BT, the intimacy is perfect for this play.” In comparison, Grace says that at the similarly-sized Michael Pilch Studio “you still feel a little bit of distance, it’s surprisingly big.” The BT, however, gets it just right.
“The fourth wall is so thin. But we want it to be so thin,” Grace states. Alys adds that they wanted it to feel like Big Brother is watching, with the audience also under the microscope. “They’re being brought into the action as well.”
On inspirations, Alys says she’s fascinated by the ballet based on Lemons. The Limit (2023) was performed for eight nights at the Linbury Theatre, London, in October 2023, starring Francesca Hayward and Alexander Campbell. In Lighthouse’s Lemons, the team has incorporated movement to illustrate that when language fails, movement supports communication. Present too in the brainstorming was the West End performances, where the actors only wore socks. “You’re in that very intimate, domestic setting,” Alys says, in a sentiment echoed by Rush, who notes: “You’ll feel like you’ve been inside that intimate space of a new relationship. It’s a messy mixture of humour, sadness, and hope.”
When asked how they want audience members to respond to the performance, the co-directors diverged. “I want them to feel all the emotions, to laugh, to cry […] to be distressed. I want them to leave thinking about the current political climate,” says Alys. Ivana’s response was more ominous. “I don’t want to freak people out, but I do want them to leave feeling scared,” Ivana laughs. “[The Hush Law] seems like a very unusual thing, but it could so easily happen to any of us.”
Lighthouse Productions’ Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons shows at the Burton Taylor Studio 27th – 31st January.
