A young woman sets sail for India and never returns – what legacy does she leave behind? Andrea is a young woman locked in emotional battles with her grandfather, Edmond. She is hurled into unknown territory when her grandmother dies. A haunting tale of intrigue, ghosts, lies and family secrets. Delving deeply into the British psyche and her imperial past, Seed unearths the torment and inherited damage when a family tries to hide their ancestors…

Seed has been specially commissioned by Muzikansky and based on the author’s research into the history of the East India Company. “Seed was inspired by the notion of young women in 1835 risking all and setting off on the high seas to far away continents”

Playwright Souad Faress is an actress and writer. This is her first full-length play. As an actress, she has recently been seen in The Permanent Way (Out of Joint and the National Theatre), Homebody/Kabul (Young Vic) and Celestina (Birmingham Rep). She is popularly known for her role as Usha in The Archers.

The two-hander is played by William Maxwell (RSC – original cast of Nicholas Nickleby, West End, Royal Exchange, Manchester, Brookside) and Charlotte Pyke who won rave reviews for Lullabies of Broadmoor and Masks and Faces at the Finborough Theatre this year: “Charlotte Pyke is outstanding” Lyn Gardner, The Guardian. “A fantastic performance by Charlotte Pyke”. The Irish World. “Charlotte Pyke’s performance…is nigh on perfect” The Stage. “The part would test the talent of our greatest actresses . . .But…Charlotte Pyke [is] a young actress…who brings to her performance a fair face, bright shining eyes and a starry charisma that makes this production a must for all talent spotters” What’s On

Directed by Nicolette Kay, Artistic Director of Muzikansky, whose previous credits include Mary Stuart (Time Out Critics’ Choice) - “Excellent performances and some stunning moments of violence...” The Independent; “Fascinating” Time Out; “Nicolette Kay directs the often exhilarating proceedings…a production of character.” The Guardian; The Dreams of Clytemnestra and Mela (BAC) and The B3 Team (Lyric Studio, Hammersmith). She also co-translated Mary Stuart which was subsequently published and has been continuously performed in the English speaking world. Seed previews in Tunbridge Wells and opens in Margate as part of the Canterbury Festival, then plays in Oxford before its London run at the Finborough Theatre.

THE PRESS ON SEED

"Ghosts, identity, love and shame are woven together in this haunting and innovative piece of new writing. The acting in the production is absolutely superb; the intense claustrophobia of the family home is tangible and the exchanges between the grandfather (William Maxwell) and Andrea (Charlotte Pyke) are so uneasy I was squirming in my chair with discomfort. The production uses dance and physical theatre in a way akin to the marvellous Shared Experience company and it is thrilling. The first act can be a bit slow at times due to the relentlessly sombre mood. However, the second act takes this play to another level; it is incredibly intense, electric and poignant."
Michelle Jordan, Theatreworld Internet Magazine

"Inspired by a memorial plaque in Holy Trinity Church, Tunbridge Wells, it deals with a large subject. What was the fate of those devoted Britons who left India when independence was achieved? To which one might add, were they really has devoted as we thought? And what was their impact on the people of this vast sub-continent? . . . This is a tale worth the telling, a granddaughter endeavouring to winkle out the facts of Anglo Indian life, which includes miscegenation, from a grandfather whose memories of his family in India are a mixture of sadness, bitterness and shame. . .the subject itself is fascinating and the play itself well worth expanding."
Peter Hepple, The Stage

"Charlotte Pyke puts in very able and distinct performances as both Andrea and Francis, granddaughter and ghost, and demonstrates the originality of the script and direction. She is able to produce, for both characters, a defining scene of accumulating force that has her pirouette her way to drunken expressionism as Andrea and lapse into caustic verse as the vitriolic ghost Frances. An excellent performance. . . the racist English mind of Edmund is explored with a disturbing intensity"
Benjamin Eyre, BBC Oxford

"This is a very good play. I enjoyed it immensely. The cast of whom there are two give fine performances in their roles. The set design is minimalist but effective. The script is strong, the direction smooth. . . It is the imperceptibly smooth nature of these transitions, the shift from soft-spoken girl to passionate spectre, from distant patriarch to weary disputant, that makes this play work so well. It flows naturally and easily. . . With a simple change in lighting and a subtle shift in tone and motion (both actors move wonderfully, Pyke in particular has a tremendous grace about her), the scene shifts two centuries into the past."
Daniel Hemmens, Oxford Daily Info

"The British Raj is a subject for ongoing fascination for many white and Asian Britons. For her debut play, actor writer Souad Faress has nabbed a small corner of its history to shed light on attitudes to do with race and identity."
Helen Chappell, What’s On in London

"This is a neat, atmospheric little ghost story dealing with the aftermath of British rule in India."
Robert Shore, Time Out

"Charlotte Pyke....eloquent and expressive..."
Fiona Mountford, Evening Standard

"Inspired by the legacy of the Raj and a memorial plaque to a young woman in Tunbridge Wells, Seed focuses on one 19th century family struggling to cope with their Indian connections. Of course, in Victorian England, one copes by covering up and saying as little as possible, and so this is a story of exotic dysfunction, misunderstanding and deception. . . The staging imparts a wonderful sense of despair, enhanced by the prolonged scene setting where Andrea fusses round with cups of coffee, glasses of wine, and bowls of soup, serving them out, putting them away again, going into the kitchen, calling for Grandfather: just when I was about to scream myself I suddenly saw the point of it, when Andrea sat and just hung her head, in absolute misery. That was a great moment. These are superb emotionally nuanced performances by these fine actors Pyke and Maxwell, in this accomplished debut full length play by Souad Faress."
Julia Hickman, Theatreworld Internet Magazine

"The performances from William Maxwell and Charlotte Pyke are excellent."
Mike Parker, The Morning Star

"Dark drama moodily produced and strongly acted. . . Faress supplies strong dramatic qualities, including well-honed dialogue. Even the voiceover starting each act justifies itself, showing ancestral legacies relating to the action. Contrasts of male and, particular, female characters and the ghostly presence in the attic, bringing revelations from the past, are all well handled. Charlotte Pyke’s contrasting submission and taunting, the anger and intelligence in her various generations of characters are beautifully delineated, as is William Maxwell’s sternness and its eventual explanation. Nicolette Kay’s production for Muzikansky productions captures the atmosphere in which secrets and withheld emotions stifle life. . . . this intriguing piece deserves its place in the Finborough’s strong autumn season."
Timothy Ramsden, Reviewsgate