How much of living is really just forgetting?
The family home is more than merely a building. It can be a destination of pilgrimage, an inherited investment, a repository of memory or even magic.
And, for brother and sister Stephen and Billie, home is all they have. Mucking along in their decaying farmhouse, they’re doing just fine.
That is, until the arrival of an ex-clergyman uncle with an unscrupulous plan, a sister-in-law seeking a miracle, and a prodigal brother hell-bent on trouble.
A world premiere from Olivier Award-winning writer and director Conor McPherson (The Weir, Girl from the North Country), The Brightening Air is an entrancing tale of fate, family and unseen forces in 1980s Ireland.
Access Performances
Audio described: Fri 30 May, 7.30pm (Touch Tour 5.30pm)
Relaxed (also audio described, captioned and BSL interpreted): Sat 31 May, 2.30pm
Captioned: Mon 02 Jun, 7.30pm
British Sign Language (BSL) interpreted: Fri 06 Jun, 7.30pm
Ages 14+.
10th April, 2025
14th June, 2025
By: Conor McPherson Director: Conor McPherson Sets: Rae Smith Costumes: Rae Smith Lighting: Mark Henderson Sound: Gregory Clarke Movement and Intimacy: Lucy Hind Voicw: Charlie Hughes-D'Aeth
Location: West End
Railway station: Waterloo
Bus numbers: (Waterloo Road) 1, 4, 26, 59, 68, 139, 168, 171, 172, 176, 188, 521, X68; (Mepham Street) 211, 243, 507
Night bus numbers: (Waterloo Road) 139, 176, 188, N1, N68, N171; (Mepham Street) 243
Car park: Waterloo Station (4mins)
Directions from tube: (7mins) Take Mepham Street (100 metres) down to Waterloo Road. Turn right on Waterloo Road, but keep left as the theatre is 100 metres further along on the opposite corner.
Brother and sister Stephen and Billie, home is all they have. Mucking along in their decaying farmhouse, they’re doing just fine.
That is, until the arrival of an ex-clergyman uncle with an unscrupulous plan, a sister-in-law seeking a miracle, and a prodigal brother hell-bent on trouble.
The Brightening Air is at London's Old Vic, which is located at 103 The Cut, London, SE1 8NB.
The Brightening Air tickets start at £25.
Ages 14+.
Check the top of this page for current availability and exclusive offers on The Brightening Air tickets on TodayTix.
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