The Young Vic has announced two new plays, The Homecoming and Nachtland, for 2023/24.
Matthew Dunster will direct Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming from November 27, 2023 – January 27, 2024. The designer is Moi Tran.
Max. Sam. Lennie. Joey. Teddy. And Ruth.
In a small house in East London lives a family of butchers, boxers and brutes. When academic son Teddy returns home from America, with a wife his family have never met, a strange and carnal power struggle between man, wife and in-laws ensues.
Pinter’s unnerving modern classic and Tony Award-winning play, The Homecoming, is described as thrillingly re-explored in a new production by Dunster.
Matthew DunsterHarold Pinter
Nachtland, a satire by Marius von Mayenburg, translated by Maja Zade and directed by Patrick Marber, runs from February 20 – April 20, 2024. Young Vic associate artist Anna Fleischle will design.
‘Do you want this hanging over your kitchen table to remind you of your Daddy?’ Modern day Germany. Nicola and Philipp argue as they clear out their late father’s house. When they find an old painting stashed in the attic, things get savage. The painting is a quaint street scene from 1920s Vienna; the work of a failed artist who abandoned his original vocation for Nazism… Nicola wants to sell it. Philipp wants to keep it. His wife Judith wants to burn it.
Nachtland* is a mordant satire about marriage, legacy, the rise of the new right, and terrible impulses buried deep. The UK premiere is directed by Marber, who recently won the 2023 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Director of a Play for Leopoldstadt.
*Nachtland is an invented German word. It suggests a place of eternal darkness.
Frankie Bridge will make her West End debut after joining the cast of 2:22 – A Ghost Story.
Bridge will play Lauren after Sophia Bush withdrew from the production due to illness. Bridge will perform from August until the end of the show’s run at the Apollo Theatre on September 17.
Producers Runway Entertainment said: “Due to illness, Sophia Bush has unfortunately had to withdraw from the production. We are delighted to welcome Frankie Bridge to the 2:22 family. Our talented understudies Gemma Yates and Allie Dart have been covering the role of Lauren on rotation. We are hugely grateful to them for stepping up so brilliantly. They will continue until Frankie begins.”
Former The Saturdays star Bridge joins the fifth West End transfer of Danny Robins’ supernatural thriller, which moved to the Apollo in May after a run at The Lyric Theatre and two successful seasons at the Criterion.
The production began its life in the summer of 2021 at the Noel Coward Theatre starring Lily Allen, Julia Chan, Hadley Fraser and Jake Wood. It then transferred to the Gielgud Theatre for 10 weeks starring Stephanie Beatriz, James Buckley, Elliot Cowan and Giovanna Fletcher.
The show then moved to the Criterion Theatre with the cast featuring Tom Felton, Mandip Gill, Beatriz Romilly, Sam Swainsbury; the second cast at the Criterion Theatre featured Tamsin Carroll as Lauren, Felix Scott as Sam, Matt Willis as Ben and Laura Whitmore as Jenny. The show then transferred to the Lyric where Cheryl, Jake Wood, Louise Ford and Scott Karim ended their run on 23 April.
The US premiere of 2:22 A Ghost Story at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, opened on October 29 and ended its run on December 4, 2022. The show has also recently opened in Australia.
2.22 – A Ghost Story is written by Robins (The Battersea Poltergeist) and it is directed by Matthew Dunster. Described as intriguing, funny and scary, it takes audiences into one adrenaline-fueled night where secrets will emerge and ghosts may appear….What do you believe? And do you dare to discover the truth?
Jenny believes her new home is haunted, but her husband Sam isn’t having any of it. They argue with their first dinner guests, old friend Lauren and her new partner Ben. Can the dead really walk again? Belief and scepticism clash, but something feels strange and frightening, and that something is getting closer, so they are going to stay up… until 2.22am… and then they will know.
2:22 – A Ghost Story features set design by Anna Fleischle, costume design by Cindy Lin, lighting design by Lucy Carter, sound by Ian Dickinson for Autograph Sound, casting by Matilda James, illusions by Chris Fisher, and co-direction by Gabriel Vega Weissmanl.
It is produced by Tristan Baker and Charlie Parsons for Runaway Entertainment, Isobel David and Kater Gordon.
Here’s a look at Sophia Bush, Ricky Champ, Clifford Samuel and Jaime Winston in 2:22: – A Ghost Story.
Jenny believes her new home is haunted, but her husband Sam isn’t having any of it. They argue with their first dinner guests, old friend Lauren and her new partner Ben. Can the dead really walk again? Belief and scepticism clash, but something feels strange and frightening, and that something is getting closer, so they are going to stay up… until 2.22am… and then they will know.
Produced by Runaway Entertainment, Bush stars as Lauren, Champ as Ben, Samuel as Sam and Winstone as Jenny.
This is the fifth West End transfer of Danny Robins’ supernatural thriller 2:22 – A Ghost Story. The show transferred from the Lyric to the Apollo earlier this month after two previous seasons at the Criterion.
The production began its life at the Noel Coward Theatre in summer 2021, starring Lily Allen, Julia Chan, Hadley Fraser and Jake Wood. It then transferred to the Gielgud Theatre for 10 weeks in December 2021. The production there, starring Stephanie Beatriz, James Buckley, Elliot Cowan and Giovanna Fletcher, completed its run in February 2022.
The first cast at the Criterion Theatre featured Tom Felton, Mandip Gill, Beatriz Romilly, Sam Swainsbury and the last Criterion Theatre cast of Tamsin Carroll as Lauren, Felix Scott as Sam, Matt Willis as Ben and Laura Whitmore as Jenny, ended its run on January 8.
The US premiere of 2:22 A Ghost Story at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles opened on October 29 and ended its run on 4 December 2022. The most recent cast, at the Lyric Theatre, Cheryl, Louise Ford, Scott Karim and Jake Wood ended their run on April 23.
2.22 – A Ghost Story is written by Danny Robins and directed by Matthew Dunster. It features set design by Anna Fleischle, costume design by Cindy Lin, lighting design by Lucy Carter, sound by Ian Dickinson for Autograph Sound, casting by Matilda James, illusions by Chris Fisher and associate direction by Matt Hassall.
The show is produced by Tristan Baker and Charlie Parsons for Runaway Entertainment, Isobel David and Kater Gordon.
The new cast opened at the Apollo Theatre on May 30 and will continue until September 17.
The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond has unveiled its first full year of programming under new artistic director Tom Littler, with world and European premieres and the first major London revival of Polly Stenham’s That Face.
Niamh Cusack will make her OT debut in the autumn with That Face. Mustapha Matura’s Meetings follows, with Kalungi Ssebandeke directing this first major UK revival.
This year ends with Tom Littler and Francesca Ellis directing the 250th anniversary production of Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer; alongside the OT’s annual family show, Tiny Tim’s Christmas Carol, based on Charles Dickens’ novel, adapted and directed by Becca Chadder.
In January, Zoe Cooper (Jess and Joe Forever, Out of Water) returns to the Orange Tree with her new play Northanger Abbey, inspired by Jane Austen’s novel, directed by Tessa Walker – in a coproduction with the Octagon Theatre Bolton, the Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough and Theatre by the Lake.
The turn of the year will bring a production of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, adapted and directed by Trevor Nunn; the UK premiere of Kate Attwell’s Testmatch, directed by Diane Page, a coproduction with ETT (English Touring Theatre) and Octagon Theatre Bolton; a rediscovery of Noël Coward’s Suite in Three Keys, directed by Littler; and completing the season, the European premiere of Lucas Hnath’s Red Speedo, directed by Matthew Dunster and co-produced with David Adkin.
The new season opens this summer with Orange Tree’s inaugural Greenhouse Festival showcasing the theatre’s OT New Artists programme and marking a new collaboration between the OT and the drama school LAMDA, including the creation of a new Associate Director position.
Headlining the Greenhouse Festival will be four productions by graduating LAMDA students, directing modern classics with their fresh and exciting takes on Ross Willis’ Wolfie (directed by Martha Barnett), Enda Walsh’s The Small Things (directed by Robert Elwood), Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal (directed by Anna Hampton) and Eugène Ionesco’s The Chairs (directed by Saniya Saraf).
Niamh Cusack in That Face
Polly Stenham’s THAT FACE Directed by Josh Seymour, September 9 – October 7, 2023 When Mia is expelled from boarding school, her mother Martha isn’t interested. Martha prefers to hang out with her son Henry. And now her estranged husband Hugh, who’s runoff to Hong Kong with his new girlfriend, is charging back threatening to sort things out. What is there to sort out? Everything is fine.
Mustapha Matura’s MEETINGS Directed by Kalungi Ssebandeke, October 14 – November 11, 2023 Suited, booted, and stuffed with American burgers and fries, Hugh walks out of a meeting and buys a mango on the street. To the bemusement of his high-flying wife Jean, Hugh becomes obsessed with the foods of his Trinidadian childhood and hires a cook, Elsa, to indulge his nostalgic passion. Mustapha Matura’s razor-sharp comedy is about identity, belonging and the cost of progress.
Oliver Goldsmith’s SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER Directed by Tom Littler with Francesca Ellis, November 18, 2023 – January 6, 2024 Christmas at Hardcastle Hall, where guests are assured of a hearty welcome. The gramophone is playing a Charleston, cocktails are in the shaker, and romance is in the air. Kate Hardcastle can’t wait to meet her intended iancé, Charles Marlow – but when Marlow finally turns up, he’s not the shy and retiring man anyone was expecting. Wily Kate soon realises that faint heart never won fair husband…
Becca Chadder’s TINY TIM’S CHRISTMAS CAROL An adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, adapted and directed by Becca Chadder, December 18, 2023 – January 6, 2024 When Bob Cratchit takes over the company from his old boss Ebenezer Scrooge, he discovers it’s tough at the top. In fact, he works so hard that this year he might cancel Christmas. So now it’s up to Tiny Tim to remind his father of the story of Scrooge and the true meaning of Christmas. Charles Dickens’ much-loved Christmas story is reinvented for families with children aged five to ten.
Zoe Cooper’sNORTHANGER ABBEY From the novel by Jane Austen, directed by Tessa Walker, January 24 – February 24, 2024 Catherine Moreland knows little of the world, but who needs real-life experience when you have novels to guide you? Catherine seizes her chance to escape her claustrophobic family and join the smart set in Bath. Between balls and parties, she meets worldly, sophisticated Isabella Thorpe – Iz, to her friends – and so Cath’s very own adventure begins.
Anton Chekhov’s UNCLE VANYA Adapted and directed by Trevor Nunn, March 2 – April 13, 2024 Sonia and her Uncle Vanya lead an uneventful life on their country estate, animated only by visits from the dashing local doctor. But when Sonia’s famous father and his glamorous new wife unexpectedly turn up, old grudges return, and new desires ignite. In the heat of summer, tempers boil over and forbidden lusts threaten to end in catastrophe.
Kate Attwell’s TESTMATCH Directed by Diane Page, April 20 – May 18, 2024 Lord’s, present day. The Women’s Cricket World Cup: England versus India. There’s a rain delay. Stuck in the same locker room together, tensions mount, ambitions are laid bare and a whole new tactical game begins. Calcutta, 1800. Two British administrators encounter challenges on the field of play that threaten the entire regime. In this game of integrity and power, past and present collide.
Noël Coward’s SUITE IN THREE KEYS Directed by Tom Littler, May 24 – July 6, 2024 In a luxury Swiss hotel suite, three separate stories unfold. In the full-length A Song at Twilight, an elderly writer faces blackmail at the hands of an ex-lover threatening to expose his secret past. Shadows of the Evening and Come into the Garden, Maud form a perfect double-bill, combining a late-life love triangle and a fizzing comedy about Americans abroad.
Lucas Hnath’s RED SPEEDO Directed by Matthew Dunster, July 13 – Aug 10, 2024 Ray lives to swim. He is within touching distance of Olympic glory and a life-changing sponsorship deal. But everything changes when performance-enhancing drugs are discovered in the club’s refrigerator. As tensions run high, Ray’s brother wants them destroyed, his coach wants to call the authorities, his ex-girlfriend doesn’t want to know, and Ray wants the drugs back. A thriller played at the breakneck pace of an Olympic sprint, Red Speedo tackles the unforgiving weight of success in a world where the only crime is getting caught.
2.22 – A Ghost Story will introduce a sixth cast when it arrives at the Apollo Theatre next month.
Sophia Bush (One Tree Hill) will play Lauren, Ricky Champ (Him & Her) is Ben, Clifford Samuel (McMafia) stars as Sam and Jaime Winstone (Kidulthood) appears as Jenny.
Jenny believes her new home is haunted, but her husband Sam isn’t having any of it. They argue with their first dinner guests, old friend Lauren and her new partner Ben. Can the dead really walk again? Belief and scepticism clash, but something feels strange and frightening, and that something is getting closer, so they are going to stay up… until 2.22am… and then they will know.
The move marks the fifth West End transfer in just two years for the supernatural thriller. It had its world premiere at the Nöel Coward Theatre in summer 2021 and subsequently received three Olivier nominations, including Best New Play and Best Actress.
The production began with stars Lily Allen, Julia Chan, Hadley Fraser and Jake Wood. It then moved to the Gielgud Theatre with Stephanie Beatriz, James Buckley, Elliot Cowan and Giovanna Fletcher.
The first cast at the Criterion Theatre featured Tom Felton, Mandip Gill, Beatriz Romilly, Sam Swainsbury; the second Criterion Theatre cast included Tamsin Carroll as Lauren, Felix Scott as Sam, Matt Willis as Ben and Laura Whitmore as Jenny. The current run at the Lyric features Cheryl as Jenny, Jake Wood as Ben, Scot Karim and Sam and Louise Ford as Lauren, who will perform until April 23.
It will run at the Apollo from May 14-September 17, 2023.
2.22 – A Ghost Story is written by Danny Robins (The Battersea Poltergeist) and directed by Matthew Dunster. It features set design by Anna Fleischle, costume design by Cindy Lin, lighting design by Lucy Carter, sound by Ian Dickinson for Autograph Sound, casting by Matilda James and illusions by Chris Fisher. The co-director is Gabriel Vega Weissman.
It is produced by Tristan Baker and Charlie Parsons for Runaway Entertainment, Isobel David and Kater Gordon.
