The Bush theatre has today announced additional performances for Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced and Cush Jumbo’s writing debut Josephine And I, with both plays extending their runs by a week.
Nadia Fall’s production of Disgraced, which opened to critical acclaim last week, will now play at the Shepherd’s Bush venue to 29 June, while Phyllida Lloyd’s production of Josephine And I, which is set to open later this summer, extends until 17 August.
Exploring themes of ambition, culture and faith, Akhtar’s award-winning play, which achieved success in the US before opening at the Bush, tells the story of corporate lawyer Amir Kapoor whose marriage and career come under threat when he hosts an intimate dinner party with his wife Emily in their Upper East Side apartment.
On opening night, The Guardian’s Michael Billington described the show as “a superb production”, before going on to say that “Fall astutely balances the play’s symmetrical neatness with a wealth of character detail, and the acting is impeccable”.
While critics have lauded Fall’s production, Cush Jumbo’s debut play Josephine And I is yet to come under scrutiny by the press, playing at the Bush theatre from 12 July (press night 17 July).
Performed by the Olivier Award nominated actress, who was last seen on stage in the all-female production of Julius Caesar at the Donmar Warehouse, also directed by Lloyd, Josephine And I intertwines the story of renowned performer and international icon Josephine Baker with that of a modern day girl striving to find her place in the world.
The extending productions form part of an exciting year for the Bush, which also includes actor Rory Kinnear’s writing debut The Herd and Tom Wells’ new play Jumpers For Goalposts.