Artistic Director Edward Hall has announced Hampstead Theatre’s new spring/summer season, which includes three exciting new plays.
The season opens with the UK premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s darkly comic post-truth play Describe The Night (30 April – 9 June), which will be directed by Lisa Spirling, whose previous hits at the venue included Deposit, Ken and Pine.
The fantasia on Russian themes explores the blurred lines between lies, fiction and conspiracy theories, as it tracks back and forth across 90 years of Soviet and post-Soviet history – from the 1920s Red Cavalry to an aircraft crash in 2010 – in search of the genesis of the post-truth world. Joseph’s previous works include the play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, which was a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama.
This is followed by the world premiere of Jemma Kennedy’s blisteringly entertaining Genesis Inc. (22 June – 28 July), directed by former Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Scotland, Laurie Sansom.
Genesis Inc. is a multifaceted tale of the final frontier of 21st century capitalism: the privatisation of human reproduction. Imaginative, topical, and explosively funny, this new comedy takes a closer look at the lengths to which people will go to defy biology – and at the moral compass of an industry that trades on fear and hope.
Meanwhile, in the Hampstead’s smaller venue, the Hampstead Downstairs, the world premiere of Fiona Doyle’s haunting and provocative new drama The Strange Death Of John Doe (25 May – 30 June) will be directed by Hall.
London – the present day. The unidentified body of a young man with fatal head injuries is found face down in a suburban street. Who is he and where did he come from? He has no ID and nobody witnessed anything. But when a breakthrough sends DC John Kavura into overdrive for answers, he discovers a haunting story of our time.
The Hampstead Theatre is currently playing host to the UK premiere of Sarah Burgess’ Dry Powder on the main stage, and Georgia Christou’s debut play – Yous Two – downstairs.
Hall said of the announcement: “Hampstead’s in a very exciting place, filled with talented, bold and ambitious creatives delivering world class entertainment to a vibrant and captivated audience. Long may it continue.’”
Tickets for the new shows can be purchased through the Hampstead Theatre website.