Lucy Kirkwood’s new play Chimerica, which opened to critical acclaim last month at the Almeida theatre, is to transfer to the West End this summer.
Following its run at the Islington venue, which is due to end on 29 June, the Headlong co-production will open at the Harold Pinter theatre for a strictly limited season from 6 August (press night 15 August) to 19 October.
Starring Stephen Campbell Moore as photojournalist Joe, who captures the moment a Chinese citizen confronts a convoy of military tanks during the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square, Chimerica is a provocative play that examines the changing fortunes of the two countries comprising its title.
At its world premiere in May, The Telegraph’s Charles Spencer described the production as “hurtl[ing] along with a mixture of humour, dramatic tension and terrific visual ingenuity,” while in his five star review The Guardian’s Michael Billington said: “If we see a better new play this year, we’ll be extremely lucky.”
Directed by Lyndsey Turner, the cast, who will transfer with the production, includes Benedict Wong, Claudie Blakley, Elizabeth Chan, Vera Chok, Karl Collins, Trevor Cooper, Nancy Crane, Sean Gilder, Sarah Lam and Andrew Leung, with further casting still to be announced.
Chimerica will open at the Harold Pinter following Maria Friedman’s critically acclaimed production of Stephen Sondheim’s classic musical Merrily We Roll Along, which ends its run on 27 July.