14 February 2024
Newsdesk
Almeida Artistic Director Rupert Goold said, “Today we announce a new season for 2024, welcoming five new directors to the Almeida. Three extraordinary new plays are followed by two canonical revivals, but all the work is made in celebration of the unique intimacy and atmosphere of the Almeida stage.
“We start with The Comeuppance. Through his many acclaimed plays, including Appropriate and An Octoroon, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins has already displayed an incredible sensitivity and bravura wit in formally inventive, completely contemporary new writing. His new play, The Comeuppance, in my opinion his masterpiece, absolutely continues that lineage.
“Having been part of our inaugural cohort of Genesis Almeida New Playwrights, Big Plays Programme, it feels particularly special to be producing Kendall Feaver’s Alma Mater in Polly Findlay’s gripping production. Kendall's virtuoso play explores the nuances and volcanoes of inter-generational feminism and will be one of the water-cooler events of London theatre in 2024.
“Last year, I was mesmerised by Eline Arbo's adaptation of Annie Ernaux’s extraordinary novel The Years in Amsterdam. Eline is one of Europe’s most visionary directors and has succeeded Ivo van Hove as Artistic Director of Internationaal Theater Amsterdam. We’re thrilled that she makes her UK debut at the Almeida this summer.
“In the autumn, we present one company in two seminal, British plays running in rep (a first for the Almeida) as part of our Angry and Young season, directed by two exciting artists. Former Almeida Resident Director Atri Banerjee returns to helm John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger, and Diyan Zora directs Arnold Wesker’s Roots, following her fantastic work with our Almeida Young Company. Performed by a single company of actors, we examine what these plays that had such a seismic impact in the 1950s, can tell us about Britain in 2024.
“We also announce two new Almeida Young Company productions, running alongside and in response to Yaël Farber’s new production of King Lear, which opens this week. It's always exciting to see the dynamic responses of emerging theatre talents as they engage with our material, reflecting the evolving energy and creativity of the next generation.
“We look forward to welcoming you to the Almeida in 2024.”
UK Premiere
THE COMEUPPANCE
by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by Eric Ting
Saturday 6 April – Saturday 18 May
Press Night: Friday 12 April, 7pm
I guess this is just that age.
The Age of Shit Showing Up.
The Age of Bad Choices Seeking Their Consequences.
Autumn 2022. A group of friends gather hours before their high school reunion.
20 years have passed since graduation: some have had children; some have moved to the other side of the world; some have been to war.
But there’s another presence in their midst. And as they catch-up and reminisce, it only takes a scratch for the scars of those school days to surface.
Eric Ting (Comeuppance US premiere; Between Two Knees) directs the UK premiere of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (An Octoroon; Appropriate) bitingly comic, strikingly timely satire, which asks if we can ever break free from the people we used to be.
Full cast includes Yolanda Kettle (Patriots; The Crown), Ferdinand Kingsley (Silo; Man and Superman), Tamara Lawrance (The Silent Twins; King Charles III), Katie Leung (Harry Potter; White Pearl) and Anthony Welsh (The Flatshare; Sucker Punch).
“One of this country’s most original and illuminating writers”
The New York Times on Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
UK Premiere
ALMA MATER
by Kendall Feaver
Directed by Polly Findlay
Tuesday 11 June – Saturday 20 July
Press Night: Tuesday 18 June, 7pm
It’s a culture that begins with a joke, a gesture, a throwaway word or a game between friends, and it ends in an act of violence.
Jo Mulligan is the first female master in her prestigious college's history. Determined to create a space where everyone feels welcome, she starts dismantling old ways of working.
But an alarming incident on campus throws her tenure into turmoil, and Jo is pitted against Nikki, a student impatient for justice.
With the college polarised and both sides doubling-down, will anyone emerge unscathed?
Kendall Feaver?follows her "funny, heart-breaking, acutely alive play" (The Guardian)?The Almighty Sometimes, with a sharp new look at the ever-growing generational divide between activists.?Directed by?Polly Findlay?(Assassins;?Beginning), featuring a cast including Phoebe Campbell (House of the Dragon; The Importance of Being Earnest) and Lia Williams (Oresteia; Mary Stuart),?Alma Mater will ignite discussion on the right way to make a difference.
UK Premiere
THE YEARS
Directed by Eline Arbo
Adapted as De jaren by Eline Arbo, in an English version by Stephanie Bain
Based on Les Années by Annie Ernaux
Saturday 27 July – Saturday 31 August
Press Night: Thursday 1 August, 7pm
Memory never stops. It pairs the dead with the living, real with imaginary beings, dreams with history.
She strikes a pose and the camera shutter clicks:
A child playing in the debris of the Second World War. Click. A student discovering parties and men’s bodies. Click. An activist fighting for the right to choose. Click. A wife picking out a velvet sofa. Click. A mother taking her eldest to judo. Click. A lover, seducing a younger man. Click. A grandmother presenting her granddaughter to the camera. Click
Internationaal Theater Amsterdam’s new Artistic Director Eline Arbo directs her inventive stage adaptation of Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux’s critically acclaimed “masterpiece” (The Guardian) The Years. Five different actors bring one woman’s personal and political story to life, set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing post-war Europe.
ROOTS
by Arnold Wesker
Directed by Diyan Zora
Tuesday 10 September – Saturday 30 November
Press Night: Tuesday 1 October, matinee
What’ve you done since you come in? Hev you said anythin’? I mean really said or done anything to show you’re alive?
Beattie Bryant returns to her rural home in Norfolk, inflamed with political zeal from her time spent living in London. As the family anxiously prepares for the arrival of her firebrand activist boyfriend Ronnie, Beattie struggles to fit back into her old way of life.
As Beattie’s radical new ideals fail to land with her traditional family, the differences between young and old are laid bare.
Diyan Zora (Tom Fool; Klippies) directs a new production of Arnold Wesker’s lyrical, impassioned play about a young woman’s journey to self-discovery which, together with John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger, changed British theatre forever. The mirror they held up to 1950s society is now angled towards 2024, with the two plays running alongside each other in repertory for 13 weeks, as part of the Almeida’s Angry and Young season.
LOOK BACK IN ANGER
by John Osborne
Directed by Atri Banerjee
Wednesday 18 September – Saturday 30 November
Press Night: Tuesday 1 October
You see, I learnt at an early age what it was to be angry – angry and helpless. And I can never forget it.
Jimmy Porter is frustrated by his post-war life running a local stall and embittered by the disapproval of his wife Alison’s wealthier family, frequently spiralling into fits of rage.
One night, when Alison’s friend unexpectedly turns up at their home, this uneasy marriage descends further into freefall, with their friends left trying to keep the peace.
Former Almeida Resident Director Atri Banerjee (The Glass Menagerie; Julius Caesar) directs a new production of John Osborne’s ground-breaking, furious play which, alongside Arnold Wesker’s Roots, changed British theatre forever. The mirror they held up to 1950s society is now angled towards 2024, with the two plays running alongside each other in repertory for 13 weeks, as part of the Almeida’s Angry and Young season.
ALMEIDA YOUNG COMPANY: DOUBLE BILL
LEAR IS NOT OKAY
by Benjamin Salmon and devised with the Almeida Young Company 14-18
Director: Germma Orleans-Thompson; Lighting Designer: Fraser Craig; Sound Designer: Kayode Gomez; Assistant Director: Déviniat Adedibu
Sunday 10 & Sunday 17 March
“Who is it that can tell me who I am?"
Somewhere in London, a new King Lear is emerging. And trust us, like, he is not okay.
Join an ambitious young company as they audition, rehearse and embark on the greatest challenge of their lives– discovering who they are, who they definitely aren’t and why that seems to matter. Brace yourself for creative differences, awkward silences, a lot of grapes, new friendships, and drama that makes even Shakespeare’s classic seem tame. As the fight for the crown takes centre stage, which young actor will come out on top? And who will be left waiting in the wings…
Written by Benjamin Salmon (Blowhole; LOVE BOMB) and devised with the Almeida 14-18 Young Company, Lear Is Not Okay is a fiery and witty exploration of adolescence, ambition, and the unrelenting yearning to feel a part of something.
LESSONS
Devised by Julia Head and the Almeida Young Company 18-25
Director: Julia Head; Costume Designer: Petros Kourtellaris; Lighting Designer: Fraser Craig; Sound Designer: Cordane Richardson; Assistant Director: Déviniat Adedibu
Sunday 10 & Sunday 17 March
Industry Performance: Friday 15 March, 2pm
Lear; From Middle English laire, leire, lere, northern Middle English variants of lore, loare “doctrine, teaching, lore”, from Old English lar “learning, instruction, something learned; a lesson”.
Lesson. Learn. Repeat.
Imagine if you were able to learn all the lessons of your lifetime in one go. Would that guarantee you a good life? Would it save you from any harm? Or would it stop you from living a life at all?
Our lives can be broken down into a series of lessons and sometimes lessons are spun into stories.
A new play devised by the Almeida 18-25 Young Company that investigates lessons; what we learn, unlearn and what we try to learn over and over again.
ALMEIDA: WEST END AND NEW YORK
A MIRROR
by Sam Holcroft
Directed by Jeremy Herrin
at the Trafalgar Theatre, London
Monday 22 January – Saturday 20 April
Award-winning actors Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting; Elementary) and Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education; Scenes with Girls) return to reprise their roles in A Mirror, transferring to the Trafalgar Theatre in London’s West End following a sell-out run at the Almeida.
Also returning to the production is Geoffrey Streatfeild, along with BIFA Winner and BAFTA nominee Samuel Adewunmi who will be joining the cast.
THE HUNT
by Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm
Adapted by David Farr
Directed by Rupert Goold
at St Ann’s Warehouse, New York
February – March 2024
Following a “world-class” (The Telegraph) run in 2019, Almeida Artistic Director Rupert Goold’s production of The Hunt transfers to St Ann’s Warehouse, New York in 2024. Tobias Menzies (The Crown) returns to lead the cast in David Farr’s adaptation of the critically acclaimed Danish film thriller Jagten, by Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm.
PATRIOTS
by Peter Morgan
Directed by Rupert Goold
at Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York
April – June 2024
Following a sold-out run at the Almeida and an acclaimed West End transfer, Almeida Artistic Director Rupert Goold's production of Patriots transfers to Broadway this spring.
Tony and Emmy Award nominee Michael Stuhlbarg stars as Berezovsky and Will Keen reprises his Olivier Award-winning turn as Putin in Patriots, a shockingly timely history play from Peter Morgan, creator of Netflix’s The Crown.
TAMMY FAYE
Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Jake Shears, Book by James Graham
Directed by Rupert Goold
Following its sold-out run at the Almeida in 2022 Tammy Faye transfers to Broadway for the 2024-25 season. Directed by Almeida Artistic Director Rupert Goold, this “spectacularly entertaining” (New York Times) true story, is a testament of faith, resilience and the temptations of success.
