First Look: Production Images Released for Billy Porter’s UK Directorial Debut, This Bitter Earth

New West End Production Explores Race, Love, and Activism in a Powerful Two-Hander

Production photography has been released for the London premiere of This Bitter Earth, a gripping and romantic drama written by Harrison David Rivers and directed by Billy Porter, now running at Soho Theatre until 26 July 2025, with a press night on Tuesday 24 June.

The new staging marks Porter’s UK directorial debut, and features performances from Omari Douglas (It’s a Sin, Cabaret, Constellations) as Jesse, and Alexander Lincoln (In From the Side, Emmerdale) as Neil. The two leads portray a couple navigating the complexities of love, race, and political resistance in contemporary America.

A Story of Love and Activism

Set against the backdrop of the 2012 Million Hoodie March and the growing Black Lives Matter movement, This Bitter Earth follows Jesse, a reserved Black writer, and Neil, his white activist boyfriend, as they try to make sense of their identities, ideals and the world around them.

Their romance unfolds in a non-linear structure across the years, as they wrestle with personal expectations and conflicting approaches to protest and engagement. As Neil throws himself into activism, Jesse resists, unwilling to become a symbol. Their relationship, tender and fractured, is tested by the political and personal turmoil surrounding them.

Playwright Harrison David Rivers explores how love and pain co-exist in a world where the personal is always political.