"Sans Merci" the play - by Johnna Adams

Portia Booroff is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Hi, my name is Portia Booroff. I am an actress, with 36 years of experience in the business. My credits include "Phedre" at The National Theatre, "The Importance of Being Earnest" (The Actor’s Church), and numerous West End performances. Recent TV includes "Avoidance" (BBC), "Eastenders" (BBC), "Doctors" (BBC), "Disclaimer" (Apple TV), "Andor" (Lucas Films), and "Ghandi Mohan" (Amaze Media).

I have been nominated for Best Actress in Film three times for my work on "Hushed", "O Vey", and "Room 36". Some of my feature film credits include Meeting” (Amazon) “Bouyancy” and “ Revenge of Billy The Kid”.

This year, for the first time, I am going behind the scenes (as well as performing the role of Elizabeth) to bring the incredible play, "Sans Merci" by Johnna Adams, to London for the first time.

In order to do this, I need to hold a series of rehearsals and readings for the entertainment industry and charities to showcase how special this play is.

I will be hosting an industry reading at the Century Club on Tuesday 29th April, after an incredibly successful table read at the Chelsea Theatre. Audience feedback stated the reading was "brutally truthful, inspiring", with "three multidimensional, deep and unique female characters". 100% of the audience voted that they are interested in the future of this play.

"Sans Merci" follows Kelly, an idealistic young woman – and a survivor of assault and attempted murder by South American revolutionaries – who is visited three years after the attack by the conservative mother of Tracy, the other victim and Kelly's girlfriend. Slowly, the survivor and mother dance through their grief at losing Tracy, while negotiating the truth of what brought the two young women together, why they undertook their dangerous humanitarian mission, and what happened on that final day.

The London production of “Sans Merci” will be directed by Michael Kingsbury, a double-Offie nominated director "Ying Tong", Leeds Playhouse and The Ambassador's, "The Divided Laing", Arcola, "Seduced", The Finborough, "Hard Times", Salisbury Playhouse, and the number one tour of "Jumping the Shark". It has a producing team with the combined experience of Amalia Kontesi (Something Special Productions) and Jacqui Garbett (Hint of Lime Productions).

The production has assembled a design team featuring lighting designer William Clarke (The Important of Being Earnest, Dramaoicht Productions, Cyrano do Bergerac, Lycee Francais Charles de Gaulle, and resident Chelsea Theatre Production Manager) and the extremely creative costume designer, Wendy Olver, who has designed for Netflix,

BAFTA, Channel 4 and the BBC.

This is a mixed abilities production, with the majority of cast having a physical or unseen disability. The role of Kelly will be played by Katherine Lyle, and the role of Tracey will be played by Hannah Kidman. Our Disability Leading Advisor, Mark Beer, is a renowned actor who has been in the industry for 40 years. He has played a wide variety of roles and is the first disabled presenter on children's TV in BBC1's "Playdays", and the first disabled actor to play a leading role in a TV drama in BBC series "Specials".

I am raising funds to pay for the performance rights, the costs associated with rehearsing actors and publicity costs in order to promote these performances. Any donation would be greatly appreciated.

All donors will be thanked in the programme and receive updates on the progression of the show.

- Donations of £10 and over: Invitation to the exclusive read through at The Century Club.

- Donations of £50 and over: In addition to an invitation to the read through, you'll be invited to an online meeting with members of the creative team to directly share your thoughts with us and help shape the future of the show.

For more information about my work, please see my website - www.portiabooroff.com