Tony, Emmy, and Grammy winner Billy Porter will direct a London industry reading of Harrison David Rivers' Bitter Earth November 1.

The reading will feature Emmanuel Imani (Geek Girl, The Wheel of Time) and Alexander Lincoln (Geek Girl, In From the Side). Casting is by Rob Kelly.

The new play, which follows young Black writer Jesse and his white activist lover Neil, asks, “What is the real cost of standing on the sidelines?”

In a statement Porter said, “Harrison David Rivers has written a searingly poingant and necessary play about love and loss through the lens of the fraying American Democratic experiment. Simple. Complex. Direct and filled with compassion all at once. I’m thrilled to be a part of bringing this very special piece to life.”

Rivers' plays also include The Bandaged Place, Sweet, And All The Dead Lie Down, And She Would Stand Like This, Five Points, Look Upon Our Lawliness, and Only You Can Prevent Wildfires.

A London production of Bitter Earth, also directed by Porter, is in the works.

Producers are Thomas Hopkins, Jana Robbins and Haley Swindal and Alex Deacon in association with John Rogerson.