Overwhelm Premieres at The Bread & Roses Theatre UK

This Autumn, Overwhelm a poignant new production will be coming to the Bread & Roses Theatre in Clapham. Confronting male loneliness, addiction and the rise of radicalisation, the show shines a light on a growing crisis often labelled as a male only issue – something expected to be quietly ensured rather than shared, discussed or supported. Written and directed by Stacey Cullen (Tell Me Where it Hurts, Pump House Watford; Winner of Buxton’s Best New Writing Award 2025), the production brings a unique perspective with a female writer at the helm, offering urgent questions about connection, vulnerability and the narrative we live by.

At a time when headlines warn of a “male loneliness epidemic”, with online radicalisation and mental health crises colliding, Overwhelm stages these pressures in real time. Following three young men, Jake, Miles and Riley, the play examines what happens when silence, addiction, and masculinity intersect through their individual journeys. The production draws from real life experiences with mental health struggles, highlighting a rare female perspective to a subject often told exclusively through the male lens.

The cast features actor and co-artistic director Sam Bates (Death of the West, Bread & Roses Theatre; And Then I’ll Sleep, Lion & Unicorn Theatre), Louis Martino (Theodosia, Apple TV/BBC iPlayer; Candy Cigs, Short Film), and Max Burnett (Hedda Gabler, Manchester School of Theatre; Equinox, Short Film).

The creative team includes assistant director Adam Halcro (Casualty, BBC; Sessions, Working Progress Collective; At Last, Proforca Theatre;), dramaturg Mollie Biddlecombe (My Dad: The Woman, The Myth, The Legend, UK Tour; I’m Lying to Your Face, Tobacco Factory) and movement director Marina Hata (Shakespeare in Concert, Etcetera Theatre; Sanspective, The Lowry; Intransigent Lines, Bloomsbury Festival/The Yard).

Stacey Cullen comments, It would have been simple enough to write something about young women, what we go through, but there was something terribly interesting to me about trying to understand and empathise with this generation’s young men. It felt like more of a challenge, chiefly because it isn’t based in my own lived experiences, but also because it’s so easy to treat young men with disdain – to paint them as unsympathetic, cold, uncaring, and toxic. But what happens when we start to examine the circumstances that surround a young man’s descent into so-called ‘toxicity’? What happens when we examine the societal pressures that push them to the fringes? That’s the egg we’re trying to crack here. With Overwhelm, I wanted to make something that reminded young men that it’s okay to not be okay. It’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay – and even masculine – to be vulnerable.

Main Image: Courtesy of Overwhelm

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