AN award winning play will be performed at a prestigious Cumbrian venue.

Family Tree, a powerful drama written by Mojisola Adebayo and directed by Matthew Xia, will be performed at Keswick’s Theatre by the Lake on May 11 as part of a national tour this year.

The play explores race, inequality, health, the environment and the incredible legacy of one of the most influential black women of modern times, Henrietta Lacks, whose influence on modern-day medicine still reverberates today.

It won the 2021 Alfred Fagon Award, the leading black British playwrighting prize, for best new play.

Matthew Xia said: “Mojisola Adebayo is an exceptional writer and I’m excited that her award-winning play will be seen by audiences far and wide.

“There’s a beauty in her work that responds so well to the present moment whilst also holding historical malpractice to account.

“It’s fearless, brutally honest, at turns hilarious, and ultimately transformative.

“Henrietta’s HeLa cell line forms the basis of the most important medical research and breakthroughs across the last 70 years, from cancer and HIV to Covid, we owe our lives to her.

“Denied her place in history, now is the time to bring Henrietta’s epic legacy to life on stage.”

Mojisola Adebayo said: “‘When I met Matthew Xia, Henrietta Lacks came into our minds at exactly the same time.

“Xia is magic but Lacks is more, she’s immortal and her body has touched every life on the planet – yours, mine, so why have so few people heard of her?

“The play paints a family tree of black women whose cells, blood and waters have birthed, raised and changed the world.

“Matthew said to me: ‘I want the audience to leave the theatre looking up’.

“I went away and wrote a play on a promise.

“Come see it.”

The 7.30pm May 11 show at Theatre by the Lake is one of many shows across the country, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Oxford, and Bristol.

For more information visit Theatre by the Lakes’ website.