The Royal Court Theatre Announces Three New Plays IMPOSTER 22, BLUE MIST And MATES IN CHELSEA Making Their Debut This September

NEW PRODUCTIONS AT THE ROYAL COURT THEATRE

THE ROYAL COURT THEATRE ANNOUNCES THREE NEW PLAYS FOR SEPTEMBER - DECEMBER 2023

IMPOSTER 22 BY MOLLY DAVIES, CO-CREATED WITH KIRSTY ADAMS, CIAN BINCHY, HOUSNI HASSAN (DJ), DAYO KOLEOSHO, STEPHANIE NEWMAN, LEE PHILLIPS AND CHARLENE SALTER, FROM AN ORIGINAL IDEA BY HAMISH PIRIE 

BLUE MIST BY MOHAMED-ZAIN DADA

MATES IN CHELSEA BY RORY MULLARKEY

THEATRE LAUNCHES PLAYS FROM UR NOTES APP, A NATIONWIDE CALL OUT FOR IDEAS FOR PLAYS STASHED ON YOUR PHONE WITH A CHANCE TO DEVELOP THEM

SIX NEW PIECES OF WORK IN PROGRESS ACROSS TWO SHARINGS IN THE JERWOOD THEATRE DOWNSTAIRS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CLEAN BREAK

TWO EVENINGS OF AZAN AHMED’S AND KHAMELEON PRODUCTIONS SELL OUT POETRY NIGHTS - DEEN & DUNYA - CELEBRATING MUSLIM VOICES WILL RUN ALONGSIDE RABIAH HUSSAIN’S NEW PLAY, WORD-PLAY

AS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED, IN JANUARY 2024 THE ROYAL COURT PRESENTS THE UK PREMIERE OF BROADWAY HIT DANA H. BY LUCAS HNATH WITH DEIRDRE O'CONNELL

OVER 50% OF SEATS IN THE JERWOOD THEATRE DOWNSTAIRS TO BE AVAILABLE FOR £25 OR LESS

The Royal Court Theatre has announced it will present three new works between September and December 2023. The new works join the currently-announced season and include a debut play from Mohamed-Zain Dada, a piece made in collaboration with Access All Areas by Molly Davies, and a new comedy from Rory Mullarkey. The theatre has also announced a nationwide call out for new would-be plays that writers have saved ideas for on their phones, two nights of poetry celebrating Muslim voices and a partnership with Clean Break that will result in six members having their work showcased in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs.

Vicky Featherstone, Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre, said: “The writers in our new programme are unified in their desire to take aim at preconceptions, stereotypes, and centres of power. Their words dismantle our understanding of the world, inviting new meanings and a stronger empathy for the communities we live in and among. In the same breath, the work is playful, dynamic, and highly imaginative. 

In these times we are doing everything we can to keep our work accessible, affordable and vital. Over the next six months, we are responding to audience feedback and trialing a new ticketing initiative. Our tickets that are £25 and below sell very quickly but once they are gone, we know that many of the people who buy those tickets can then not afford to see the work, and it’s essential that we continue to welcome everyone who wants to come to the theatre into the space and reduce the barrier that price presents. The hope is that the initiative will allow more people to see more performances at more affordable prices.

It’s a privilege to present my final programme of work as Artistic Director of this extraordinary theatre. Very soon a new visionary will be in place and I’m sure, under their guardianship, the Court will continue to inspire, invigorate and provoke writers, theatre-makers and audiences alike.”  

In September the Royal Court collaborates with Access All Areas for Imposter 22. The new production will be created with the sensory needs of neurodivergent audience members in mind and all performances will be relaxed. Imposter 22 by Molly Davies (God Bless the Child, A Miracle) is a co-creation with seven learning disabled and autistic artists, who also perform in the piece, from an original idea by neurodivergent Royal Court Associate Director Hamish Pirie (Teh Internet is Serious Business, Violence and Son). The whodunnit caper has been collectively created, inspired by the lived experiences and imagination of the group. The cast and co-creators - Kirsty Adams, Cian Binchy, Housni Hassan (DJ), Dayo Koleosho, Stephanie Newman, Lee Phillips and Charlene Salter, have developed the piece over the last five years during a workshop process with director Pirie and writer Davies. The production marks a new partnership between Access All Areas and the Royal Court and is a playful account of barrier navigation and the politics of neurodiversity. Imposter 22 runs in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from Saturday 23 September - Saturday 14 October 2023, with Press Night on Friday 29 September 2023. 

Set in the shisha lounges of North West London, Mohamed-Zain Dada’s debut, Blue Mist, follows a journalist who sells out his own community, in a candid riposte to the portrayal of South Asian Muslim men in the media. It runs in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from Thursday 5 October - Saturday 18 November 2023, directed by Royal Court Associate Director Milli Bhatia (Baghdaddy, seven methods of killing kylie jenner), with Press Night on Wednesday 11 October 2023.

Mates in Chelsea by Rory Mullarkey (Pity, The Wolf From The Door), directed by Royal Court Associate Director Sam Pritchard (all of it, Pity) is a contemporary comedy of manners, inspired by Wilde and Wodehouse and set among the dwellers of south west London who remain our country’s ruling class. The show will run in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from Friday 3 November - Saturday 16 December 2023, with Press Night on Thursday 9 November 2023.

The three new plays follow the current season which includes Hope has a Happy Meal by Tom Fowler, a frenetic quest through a hyper-capitalist country, on in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs until Saturday 8 July 2023. In the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Olivier and BAFTA Award-winning playwright Michael Wynne returns to the Royal Court with Cuckoo from Thursday 6 July - Saturday 19 August 2023. In partnership with Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, this new dark comedy will be directed by Royal Court Artistic Director Vicky Featherstone. Word-Play by Rabiah Hussain will play in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from Thursday 20 July - Saturday 26 August 2023, exploring how language seeps into public consciousness. 

In August, the Royal Court Theatre will present two evenings of Azan Ahmed’s sell out poetry nights Deen & Dunya alongside the production of Rabiah Hussain’s Word-Play. Taking place on Friday 4 and Friday 25 August 2023, the two nights of music and performance elevate and celebrate Muslim voices, and will run after a workshop series which will give two new poets the chance to perform at the events.

In January 2024, the UK premiere of the Tony Award-winning Dana H. by Lucas Hnath will play in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from Tuesday 16 January - Saturday 9 March 2024 with Deirdre O'Connell reprising her Tony award-winning role as Dana.

The Royal Court has also today announced a brand new public call out for writers to submit work from their notes app. Plays from ur notes app encourages writers to share the ‘not quite finished but inspired’ ideas that live in the notes page of a phone. The call out is for new writers who have never written a full length play before and would lead to a sharing of work. Previous writers who have started their writing careers at the Court as a result of a similar programme include Tom Fowler (Hope Has A Happy Meal) and Jasmine Lee Jones (seven methods of killing kylie jenner).

In September, the theatre will present the results of a new partnership between the Royal Court Theatre and Clean Break. The Playwrights Pathways will see six Clean Break members further their playwriting craft and knowledge of the theatre industry, culminating in a  showcase of their work in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs. Since 1979, Clean Break has used theatre to keep the subject of women in prison on the cultural radar, helping to reveal the damage caused by the criminal justice system. Dates are still to be announced.

The Royal Court has also announced a new commitment to more lower ticket prices in an attempt to make theatre-going more affordable. Acknowledging the impact that the cost of living crisis is having on audiences and that many people are being priced out of going to the theatre, the Royal Court is set to trial new pricing making 50% of all tickets for its larger house, Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, £25 or less for the next six months. The significant change in pricing will offer more tickets at more affordable prices in the hope that more people will be able to access the work that they present there. For the programme from July 2023 to February 2024, 50% of tickets for shows in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs – more that 34,000 tickets in total – will be available for £25 or less. £25 will continue to be the top price in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs. The Royal Court will continue to run its Encounters programme - offering a range of discounted and free tickets to schools, young people and community groups - alongside the change in pricing.  

Tickets for all newly announced productions go on sale to supporters from 11.00am on Monday 26 June 2023, to Friends at 12.00pm on Wednesday 28 June 2023, and to the general public at 12.00pm on Friday 30 June 2023.

 

 

Show information:

A Royal Court Theatre and Access All Areas co-production 

Imposter 22

Directed by Hamish Pirie  

Saturday 23 September - Saturday 14 October 2023, 7.30pm
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Press night: Friday 29 September 2023, 7pm
Post-show talk: Tuesday 3 October 2023

Full listing at the Royal Court Theatre 

 

“We need to start at the start.

Yes, yes, we do or the Neurotypicals will be confused”

There was something off about the new guy. But now he’s dead, and the sirens are fast approaching.

Who to trust – what was it he told you that time on the pedalo? 

You need to get your story straight; because CCTV and number plates. 

Because everyone’s perspective is different, and only certain perspectives count. 

You need an empty stage, a mic, a London bus.

You need a captive audience, roller skates, and a man 25 to 45 who will do as he’s told.

Pressure’s on. Engine’s running. 

Developed by Access All Areas Associate Artists: Kirsty Adams, Cian Binchy, Housni Hassan (DJ), Dayo Koleosho, Stephanie Newman, Lee Phillips and Charlene Salter alongside Molly Davies and Hamish Pirie over a period of five years, Imposter 22 is a playful account of barrier navigation, the politics of neurodiversity and the power of sharing a platform.

 

 

Blue Mist
Written by Mohamed-Zain Dada (he/him)
Directed by Milli Bhatia (she/her)
Thursday 5 October - Saturday 18 November 2023, 3pm & 7.45pm
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Press night: Wednesday 11 October 2023, 7pm
Post-show talk Tuesday 17 October 2023
Full listing at the Royal Court Theatre

“Shisha lounges are an essential part of the Muslim experience bruv, like the Fillet o Fish.” 

Chunkyz Shisha Lounge is a home away from home for Jihad, Rashid and Asif, a space where community whispers are heard, jokes are told and new hustles are born. But its future is under threat, having become a target for local politicians. 

Aspiring journalist Jihad wants to fight back. After winning a competition to produce his own documentary, he sets out to create something that gives a voice to his community and challenges the usual stereotypes that fill the airwaves. 

Will Jihad be able to create something that makes his boys proud? Or will his dreams of becoming a journalist come at a cost too high to bear? 

'A good journalist doesn’t always play friendly. In fact, they mostly don’t.' 

Mohamed-Zain Dada’s debut play, Blue Mist, is a story about South Asian Muslim Men navigating a system that isn't built for them. Directed by Royal Court Associate Director Milli Bhatia. 

 

 

Mates in Chelsea
Written by Rory Mullarkey (he/him)
Directed by Sam Pritchard (he/him)
Friday 3 November - Saturday 16 December 2023, 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Press night: Thursday 9 November 2023, 7pm
Post-show talk: Tuesday 14 November 2023 

Full listing at the Royal Court Theatre

 

"But I do have a job. I'm a professional viscount."

Things aren't looking good for Theodore "Tug" Bungay.

His mother, Lady Agrippina, has a plan to cut off his funds. His fed-up fiancée wants to drag him up the aisle. An oligarch is eyeing up his beloved Northumberland castle. Is Tug’s dissolute life about to change completely? Or will he get to carry on doing exactly as he pleases without ever facing any consequences?

Directed by Royal Court Associate Director Sam Pritchard, Rory Mullarkey’s riotous new play takes inspiration from Wilde and Wodehouse to create a contemporary comedy of manners set among the dwellers of south west London who – somehow – remain our country’s ruling class.

Royal Court Theatre presents

The Goodman Theatre / Center Theatre Group / Vineyard Theatre production of
Dana H.
Written by Lucas Hnath (he/him)
Adapted from interviews with Dana Higginbotham conducted by Steve Cosson

Directed by Les Waters (he/him)

Performed by Deirdre O'Connell (she/her) 

Tuesday 16 January - Saturday 9 March 2024, 2.30pm and 7.30pm 

Jerwood Theatre Downstairs

Press night: Monday 22 January 2024, 7pm 

Full listing at the Royal Court Theatre

 

“This is the first time I’m talking about this in all of these years so I – I'm in – I I’m in this world but I’m not.” 

Broadway smash-hit and winner of two Tony Awards, Dana H. will have its UK premiere at the Royal Court Theatre in January 2024.

Deirdre O'Connell makes her London stage debut reprising her Tony-winning tour-de-force performance as Dana, a psych ward chaplain who was held captive by a patient in a series of Florida motels for five months. Dana Higginbotham’s remarkable true story is told in her own words and using her own voice, with recorded interviews reconstructed for the stage by Dana’s son, playwright Lucas Hnath, and meticulously lip-synced by O’Connell. The result is a groundbreaking work that shatters the boundaries of real and artifice, and challenges our understanding of good and evil.

Dana H. is directed by Tony-nominated, former Royal Court Associate Director Les Waters, and features a richly-crafted soundscape by Mikhail Fiksel, winner of the Tony Award for Best Sound Design of a Play.

This production was originally produced on Broadway by Matt Ross, Sally Horchow and Dori Berinstein.

Deen & Dunya

Friday 4 August 2023, Friday 25 August 2023, 9:30pm
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs

Deen & Dunya is a poetry night that celebrates and elevates Muslim voices. Since its inception, it has enjoyed sell-out nights at Bush Theatre and Shakespeare's Globe, headlining the Shakespeare & Race Festival.

Responding to themes in Word-Play, these two special events will see emerging and renowned poets create original work around the power of language, reclamation and expression.. Ten poets across two events will work closely with a DJ to blend sound and lyricism together and disrupt the boxes Muslims are often squashed into

In collaboration with Open Court, Deen & Dunya will mentor two early career poets who will write & perform an original set created specifically around Word-Play.

Expect an evening punctuated with poetry, soundtracked by a live DJ - Deen & Dunya is an authentically Muslim space that is sure to light a spark in your heart.

It will be a free, ticketed event.

Hosted by actor & poet Azan Ahmed.

Deen & Dunya is produced by Azan Ahmed & Khameleon Productions.

Plays from ur notes app
Screenshots of notes app aren’t just for celebrities apologising. The notes app is the home of imagination: stories you want to tell, shopping lists, things that made you smile, drafts of tricky texts so the other person can’t see you typing, passwords you never remember, things you wish you’d said in arguments… The list is endless. It’s a space just for you, to create, to play, to write.

Plays from ur notes app is a call out for writers aged 16 – 25 to submit writing that either currently lives or could live in the notes app on a phone. It is an invitation for ideas not yet fully formed, that writers are excited about. From this call out the Royal Court will give ten writers a paid opportunity to take part in a sharing of their play from their notes app. They will then be invited to take part in a writer's group at the Royal Court.

More information on Plays from ur notes app as well as how to apply will be announced on the Royal Court website and social media in August with applications opening in September.

Clean Break at the Royal Court - The Playwrights Pathways

Monday 4 September, 7pm - Tuesday 5 September 2023, 3pm

Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
The Playwrights Pathways has been a creative development opportunity supporting six Clean Break Members to further their playwriting craft, knowledge of theatre making processes and the theatre industry. Each writer pitched an idea and across the programme these ideas have been developed into the writer’s first full-length playscript.

This event - that takes the form of rehearsed reading extracts - is an opportunity to share, celebrate and platform the necessary, imaginative and wildly different stories that have been brought to life through the individual voices and talents of our writers.

Since 1979 Clean Break has used theatre to keep the subject of women in prison on the cultural radar, helping to reveal the damage caused by the criminal justice system. The sharing will be on Monday 4 September and Tuesday 5 September 2023 in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs and will be directed by Rachel Valentine-Smith. Limited tickets will be available for the public, with the writers and details of the plays to be announced in due course.

Upcoming press performances:

 

Booking Information. 

General ticket prices 

Imposter 22: £12 - £49
Blue Mist: £12 - £25
Mates in Chelsea: £12 - £49 

Dana H: £15 - £49

 

Cuckoo: £12 - £49

Hope has a Happy Meal: £12 - £25

Word-Play: £12 - £25

Tickets: Ways to Save

Concessions - available for previews and matinees. Limited to Band A – B in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs. Concessions are available for Over 65s, Students, recipients of Jobseekers Allowance, and members of Equity, BECTU, Stage Directors UK or the Writers' Guild of Great Britain. 

First Look Tickets - as most of the plays we stage at the Royal Court have never been seen before, the first few performances in front of an audience are the final part of a long creative process that starts with the playwright. Our First Look Performances, which are sold at a reduced price, are an integral part of the process. If you book tickets for a First Look Performance (usually the first three previews of a new play), you’ll be asked for your feedback which is then shared with the artistic team during the preview period, potentially influencing the final piece. 

Under 27s Tickets – We offer a limited number of £15 tickets for selected performances in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs. Available on Band B tickets, subject to availability. 

Monday Tickets – Every other Monday, every seat in the house for Jerwood Theatre Downstairs productions is available for £12 from 9am online. A limited number are available in advance, subject to availability, to Friends and Supporters. The same price is available every Monday for Jerwood Theatre Upstairs productions.

Standing Tickets – A limited number of 10p standing places go on sale one hour before each Jerwood Theatre Downstairs performance. The places are production dependent and may not always be available so please check in advance. 

Support 

As a registered charity, all donations received via bookings will go to Support the Court, a fund which enables the Royal Court to continue to create ground-breaking new work for audiences. The support allows the theatre to keep running all of its behind-the-scenes projects, delivering writers programmes here in the UK and across the world, and schemes for, and with, young people. Find out more here.

Backstage tours
Join us on a backstage tour of the Royal Court Theatre, one of the most important theatres of its time. Explore the design of the building before going behind the scenes for a glimpse of how our work goes from page to stage, and everything in between.

Post-tour cream tea packages are available. See website for tour dates. Group & bespoke tour packages available.

Biographies (in production order)

 

Imposter 22

Molly Davies (Writer)

For the Royal Court: God Bless The Child, A Miracle. 

Other theatre includes: Chicken (Eastern Angles/Paines Plough Roundabout); Shooting Truth (National Theatre Connections); Orpheus & Eurydice (National Youth Theatre/Old Vic Tunnels); Magic (Paines Plough/Ipswich New Wolsey Theatre); Birds Stopped Singing (Company of Angels); The Future of Bump, Jenny Sings (Hampstead - heat&light and ESOL group); Things are Fragile (Shared Experience youth); The Best Team Since the A-Team (Southwark Playhouse youth); My Days (& Company of Angels), No Fairy Stories (Soho).

Film includes: TRUE THINGS.

Awards include: Harold Pinter Playwriting Award, Evening Standard Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright (God Bless the Child), Westminster Prize (No Fairy Stories). 

 

Hamish Pirie (Director)

For the Royal Court: Living Archive, Rare Earth Mettle, Living Newspaper, Listen Local (Waltham Forest), Instructions for Correct Assembly, Goats, Beyond the Court: Tottenham, Primetime 2017, Human Animals, Violence & Son, Who Cares, Teh Internet is Serious Business. 

Other theatre includes: Shibboleth (Abbey, Dublin); I’m with the Band (Traverse & Wales Millennium Centre), Quiz Show, Demos, 50 Plays for Edinburgh (Traverse); Love With a Capital ‘L’, 3 Seconds, Most Favoured, The Last Bloom (Traverse/Òran Mór); Bravo Figaro (Royal Opera House/Traverse); Salt Root & Roe (Donmar/Trafalgar Studios); Stacy (Arcola & Trafalgar Studios), Purgatory (Arcola); Pennies (nabokov); Paper House (Flight 5065). 

Hamish trained as Resident Assistant Director at Paines Plough & at the Donmar Warehouse. He was previously Associate Director at the Traverse Theatre. Hamish is an Associate Director at the Royal Court.

 

Charlene Salter (Co-Creator and Performer) 

Charlene is an actor, writer, facilitator, and associate artist of Access All Areas, where she is also co-chair of the board of trustees.

Theatre includes: unReal City (Access All Areas, Battersea Arts Centre & Brighton Dome in collaboration with dreamthinkspeak), The Interrogation (solo show with Access All Areas & Lowry Theatre); ZARA (Mind the Gap).

Television includes: Casualty, Doctors. 

Charlene graduated from Access All Areas’ Performance Making Diploma at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

She is a facilitator on Access All Areas’ consultancy programmes, co-directed “Winged” (Access All Areas), and has worked as a script development consultant for a major broadcaster. She sits on the Creative Partnerships Group board for Battersea Arts Centre and was appointed to the #FreelanceTaskForce.

 

Cian Binchy (Co-Creator and Performer) 

Cian is an actor, writer, and associate artist of Access All Areas.

Theatre includes: The Misfit Analysis (solo show with Access All Areas, Edinburgh Fringe/UK Tour/Mexico Tour with British Council); unReal City (Access All Areas, Battersea Arts Centre & Brighton Dome in collaboration with dreamthinkspeak); MADHOUSE re:exit (Access All Areas, Lowry Theatre & Shoreditch Town Hall); Eye Queue Hear (Access All Areas, Rich Mix & UK Tour).

Television includes: Grace, Doctors, The Level.

Awards include: VAULT Festival People’s Choice Award (The Misfit Analysis). 

Cian’s consultancy work includes supporting the original development of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” (National).

Cian graduated from Access All Areas’ Performance Making Diploma at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

 

Dayo Koleosho (Co-Creator and Performer) 

Dayo is an actor and associate artist of Access All Areas, where he is also a trustee.

Theatre includes: Faith, Hope and Charity (National Theatre & international tour); Jitney (Leeds Playhouse, Old Vic, Headlong UK tour); #crazyfuturelove (Occupy Festival at Battersea Arts Centre, the Bubble Club and the Autism Arts Festival); unReal City (Access All Areas, Battersea Arts Centre & Brighton Dome in collaboration with dreamthinkspeak); MADHOUSE re:exit (Access All Areas, Lowry Theatre & Shoreditch Town Hall); Eye Queue Hear (Access All Areas, Rich Mix & UK Tour).

Television includes: Casualty, Strike, Grace, Doctors, The Level, Damned, Holby City.

Other credits include: Paralympics Opening Ceremony. 

Dayo founded collective duo ‘Everyday Daylee’ with actor Lee Phillips. 

Dayo graduated from Access All Areas’ Performance Making Diploma at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

 

Housni Hassan (DJ) (Co-Creator and Performer) 

DJ is an actor and dancer, an associate artist of Access All Areas, Associate Artistic Director at dance company Corali, and a performer with cabaret collective Not Your Circus Dog.

Theatre includes: Not F**kin’ Sorry (Soho & UK tour); Duckie Presents – Princess (Royal Vauxhall Tavern); unReal City (Access All Areas, Battersea Arts Centre & Brighton Dome in collaboration with dreamthinkspeak); MADHOUSE re:exit (Access All Areas, Lowry Theatre & Shoreditch Town Hall); Eye Queue Hear (Access All Areas, Rich Mix & UK Tour).

Dance includes: The People Race The Fish, Hearts and Faces, Origami Atoms (Corali), The Overlap (solo show and national tour), The Manifesto for a Perfect Cup of Tea (solo show and international tour).

DJ graduated from Access All Areas’ Performance Making Diploma at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

 

Kirsty Adams (Co-Creator and Performer) 

Kirsty is an actor, associate artist of Access All Areas, member of the Separate Doors National Ensemble and the BareFace Collective.

Theatre includes: Fix Us (Lyric Hammersmith, Rosemary Branch, Soho, VAULT Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival); unReal City (Access All Areas, Battersea Arts Centre & Brighton Dome in collaboration with dreamthinkspeak); Women Centre Stage (Hampstead). 

Other credits include: Class Act. 

Awards include: Shortlisted for the Pleasance Theatre Charlie Hartill Award (Fix Us). 

Kirsty graduated from Access All Areas’ Performance Making Diploma at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

 

Lee Phillips (Co-Creator and Performer) 

Lee is an actor, writer, facilitator, and associate artist of Access All Areas.  

Theatre includes: #crazyfuturelove  (Occupy Festival at Battersea Arts Centre, the Bubble Club and the Autism Arts Festival); The Darkest Part of the Night (Kiln); unReal City (Access All Areas, Battersea Arts Centre & Brighton Dome in collaboration with dreamthinkspeak); All Wrapped Up (UK tour, Oily Cart).

Other credits include: Training films for both NHS England and Rsources for Autism.  

Lee graduated from Access All Areas’ Performance Making Diploma at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

He founded collective duo ‘Everyday Daylee’ with actor Dayo Koleosoho. 

Lee also performs with London Bubble, Sardines Dance, and Entelechy Arts.

 

Stephanie Newman (Co-Creator and Performer) 

Stephanie is an actor, associate artist of Access All Areas, and a performer with cabaret collective Not Your Circus Dog. 

Theatre includes: Not F**kin’ Sorry (Soho & UK tour); Duckie Presents – Princess (Royal Vauxhall Tavern); unReal City (Access All Areas, Battersea Arts Centre & Brighton Dome in collaboration with dreamthinkspeak); Joy (Royal Stratford East).

Stephanie graduated from Access All Areas’ Performance Making Diploma at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

 

Blue Mist 

Mohamed-Zain Dada (Writer) 

As writer: 

For the Royal Court: SW1: Loot, Living Newspaper: Emily (Glitched) in Paris.  

Other theatre includes: Zidane of the Ends (High Tide).  

As director: 

Theatre includes: The End of Diaspora (Free Word Centre).  

Film includes: Otherstani, The Moon is a Meme.  

 

Milli Bhatia (Director)  

As director, for the Royal Court: Baghdaddy, Maryland, seven methods of killing kylie jenner, Living Newspaper, My White Best Friend (and Other Letters Left Unsaid), This Liquid Earth: A Eulogy in Verse [Edinburgh International Festival], Half Full (& RWCMD), Dismantle This Room. 

As assistant director, for the Royal Court: Inside Bitch (& Clean Break), Poet in da Corner, One For Sorrow, Instructions for Correct Assembly, Girls & Boys. 

As director, other theatre includes: Chasing Hares (Young Vic); seven methods of killing kylie jenner (Riksteatern, Stadsteatern, Dramaten (Scenkonstbiennalen), The Public Theater NY, Woolly Mammoth DC); Dismantle This Room, The Hijabi Monologues (Bush); My White Best Friend (and Other Letters Left Unsaid) (Bunker); I’m Tired Of Waiting, Someone Pass Me The Duct Tape, (Stratford East). 

As director, film includes: seven methods of killing kylie jenner, Living Newspaper (Royal Court); HOME(BODY) or The Tall Story (Young Vic); Tiny Dancers (NYT); Yash Gill’s Power Half Hour. 

As director, radio includes: Ghosts In The Blood (Audible). 

 

Mates in Chelsea

Rory Mullarkey (Writer)

For the Royal Court: This Play [Living Newspaper]; Pity; The Wolf from the Door; Remembrance Day [translation]. 

Other theatre includes: Wintry Tales (Live, Newcastle); The Cherry Orchard [translation] (Bristol Old Vic/Royal Exchange, Manchester); Saint George & the Dragon (National); The Oresteia [adaptation] (Globe); Each Slow Dusk (Pentabus/UK tour); Cannibals, Single Sex (Royal Exchange, Manchester); Flood (NYT); The Grandfathers (NT Connections/Bristol Old Vic/National); On the Threshing Floor (Heat&Light Company/Hampstead). 

Libretti include: The Skating Rink (Garsington); Coraline (ROH); The Way Back Home (ENO/Young Vic). 

Awards include: Abraham Woursell Prize; Harold Pinter Commission; George Devine Award; James Tait Black Prize for Drama.

Sam Pritchard (Director)

For the Royal Court: all of it, A Fight Against... (Una Lucha Contra...), Living Newspaper, Pity, Grimly Handsome [co-creator], B. 

Other theatre includes: The Mysteries, Galka Motalka (Royal Exchange, Manchester); Pygmalion (Headlong/Leeds Playhouse/Nuffield/UK tour); There Has Possibly Been an Incident (Royal Exchange, Manchester/Soho/Edinburgh Festival Fringe/Theatertreffen, Berlin); Fireface (Young Vic). 

Sam was the winner of the JMK Award for Directors in 2012. He is the Associate Director (International) at the Royal Court. 

Listings Information 

Cuckoo 

Written by Michael Wynne 

Directed by Vicky Featherstone 

Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS

Thursday 6 July - Saturday 19 August 2023 

Monday – Saturday 7.30pm 

Thursday & Saturday matinees 2.30pm 

Captioned Performances Wednesday 2 August, 7.30pm, Thursday 3 August, 2.30pm, Saturday 12 August, 2.30pm 

Relaxed Environment Performance Saturday 12 August 2023, 2.30pm 

BSL Performance Saturday 19 August 2023, 2.30pm 

Audio-Described Performance Saturday 12 August 2023, 2.30pm 

Press Performance Wednesday 12 July 2023, 7pm 

Post-show talk Tuesday 18 July 2023 

Standard Tickets £12 - £49 

First Look Tickets** 

Concessions* 

Under 27s*** 

Access £17.50 (plus a companion at the same rate) 

 *ID required. All discounts subject to availability. 

 

Word-Play 

Written by Rabiah Hussain 

Directed by Nimmo Ismail 

Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS

Thursday 20 July - Saturday 26 August 2023 

Monday – Saturday 7.45pm Thursday & Saturday matinees 3pm 

Captioned Performances Wednesday 16 August, 7.45pm, Saturday 26 August 2023, 3pm 

Relaxed Environment Performance Saturday 19 August 2023, 3pm 

Press Performance Wednesday 26 July 2023, 7pm 

Post-show talk Wednesday 2 August 2023 

Standard Tickets £12 - £25 

First Look Tickets**

Concessions* 

Under 27s*** 

Access £17.50 (plus a companion at the same rate) 

*ID required. All discounts subject to availability. 

 

Deen & Dunya

Hosted by Azan Ahmed

Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS

Friday 4, Friday 25 August 2023, 9.30pm

Tickets will be free.

 

 

Imposter 22 

By Molly Davies

Created with Kirsty Adams, Cian Binchy, Housni Hassan (DJ), Dayo Koleosho, Stephanie Newman, Lee Phillips and Charlene Salter

From an original idea by Hamish Pirie

Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS

Saturday 23 September - Saturday 14 October 2023

Monday - Saturday 7.30pm

Captioned Performances Thursday 12 October 2023, Saturday 14 October 2023

BSL Performance Friday 13 October 2023

Audio Described Performance Saturday 14 October 2023, Touch Tour at 6pm

All performances of Imposter 22 will be relaxed.

Press Performance Friday 29 September 2023, 7pm

Post-Show Talk Tuesday 3 October 2023

Standard Tickets £15 - £49

First Look Tickets** 

Concessions* 

Under 27s*** 

Access £17.50 (plus a companion at the same rate) 

*ID required. All discounts subject to availability.

 

Blue Mist

Written by Mohammed-Zain Dada

Directed by Milli Bhatia 

Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS

Thursday 5 October - Saturday 18 November 2023

Monday - Saturday 7.45pm

Thursday & Saturday matinees 3pm

Captioned Performances Thursday 9 November 2023, 3pm, Friday 10 November 2023, 7.45pm

Relaxed Environment Performance Saturday 11 November 2023, 3pm

Press Performance Wednesday 11 October 2023, 7pm

Post-Show Talk Tuesday 17 October 2023

Standard Tickets £12 - £25 

First Look Tickets** 

Concessions* 

Under 27s*** 

Access £17.50 (plus a companion at the same rate) 

*ID required. All discounts subject to availability. 

 

Mates in Chelsea

Written by Rory Mullarkey

Directed by Sam Pritchard

Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS

Friday 3 November - Saturday 16 December 2023

Monday - Saturday 7.30pm

Thursday & Saturday matinees 2.30pm

Captioned Performances Wednesday 6 December 2023, 7.30pm, Thursday 7 December 2023, 2.30pm

Audio Described Performance Saturday 9 December 2023, 2.30pm, Touch Tour at 1pm

Relaxed Environment Performance Saturday 9 December 2023, 2.30pm

Press Performance Thursday 9 November 2023, 7pm

Post-Show Talk Tuesday 14 November 2023

Standard Tickets £15 - £49 

First Look Tickets** 

Concessions* 

Under 27s*** 

Access £17.50 (plus a companion at the same rate) 

*ID required. All discounts subject to availability.

 

Dana H.

Written by Lucas Hnath

Directed by Les Waters

Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS

Tuesday 16 January - Saturday 9 March 2024

Monday – Saturday 7.30pm 

Thursday & Saturday matinees 2.30pm

Captioned Performances Thursday 8 February, 7.30pm, Tuesday 20 February, 7.30pm, Saturday 9 March 2024, 2.30pm

Relaxed Environment Performance Saturday 9 March 2024, 2.30pm

BSL Performance Saturday 2 March 2024, 2.30pm

Audio Described Performance Saturday 9 March 2024, 2.30pm

Press Performance Monday 22 January 2024, 7pm

Standard Tickets £15 - £49

First Look Tickets** 

Concessions* 

Under 27s*** 

Access £17.50 (plus a companion at the same rate) 

*ID required. All discounts subject to availability. 

About The Royal Court
The Royal Court Theatre is the writers’ theatre. It is a leading force in world theatre for cultivating and supporting writers - undiscovered, emerging and established. 

Since 1956, we have commissioned and produced hundreds of writers, from John Osborne to Jasmine Lee-Jones. Royal Court plays from every decade are now performed on stages and taught in classrooms and universities across the globe.

Through the writers, the Royal Court is at the forefront of creating restless, alert, provocative theatre about now. We open our doors to the unheard voices and free thinkers that, through their writing, change our way of seeing.

We strive to create an environment in which differing voices and opinions can co-exist. In current times it is becoming increasingly difficult for writers to write what they want or need to write without fear, and we will do everything we can to rise above a narrowing of viewpoints.

Through all our work we strive to inspire audiences and influence future writers with radical thinking and provocative discussion. 

The Royal Court Theatre is supported using public funding by Arts Council England.

About Access All Areas
Access All Areas makes award-winning, disruptive performance by learning disabled and autistic artists. Our productions create intimate moments of interaction between performers and public, occupying unexpected spaces in venues, on the streets, online, and in public buildings. 

As well as making shows, our company of Associate Artists works to make our culture more inclusive for learning disabled and autistic talent. We engage communities, train artists through our award-winning Diploma with Sky Studios and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and work closely with TV, film, and theatre companies to make their work and workplaces more accessible. 

Our partners include TV Access Project, Netflix, Sky Studios, The Lowry, and BAC, and we’ve worked on recent projects with National Theatre, Old Vic, Kiln Theatre, BBC, ITV Studios, and Channel 4.

All our work, from productions, to consultancy, to creative workshops, is co-led by Access All Areas’ learning disabled and autistic artists, ensuring lived experience drives everything we do.

About Clean Break
Clean Break uses theatre to keep the subject of women in prison on the cultural radar, helping to reveal the damage caused by the criminal justice system. Through thier work, they raise difficult questions, inspire debate, and help to effect profound and positive change in the lives of women with experience of the criminal justice system. 

Since 1979, Clean Break has been the only women’s theatre company of its kind, and we continue to inspire playwrights and captivate audiences with our ground-breaking plays on the complex theme of women and criminalisation.  

Through theatre workshops and projects in prisons and in the community which build confidence, resilience and wellbeing, we transform the lives of women who have experienced the criminal justice system or who are at risk of entering it due to the challenges they are facing, such as mental health or drug use issues, which place them in circumstances that make interaction with the criminal justice system difficult to avoid. 

Our Members Programme is available to women aged 18 and above. The Programme offers a range of workshops and performance opportunities led by esteemed female theatre artists, underpinned by comprehensive support. 

Clean Break’s women-only identity is crucial to our rationale. The treatment of women by the criminal justice system is one of the clearest demonstrations that our society is still unequal and that women are judged by different standards to men. Our vision is of a society where women can realise their full potential, free from criminalisation, and we believe that theatre enables women to challenge their oppression by society in general and by the criminal justice system in particular. 

About Deen and Dunya
Azan Ahmed: Azan is an award-winning writer, poet and actor. He recently played Ferdinand in The Tempest (Shakespeare’s Globe), and will be next seen in The Father and the Assassin (National Theatre). Other acting credits include: Van Der Valk III (ITV) Count Abdulla (ITVX) and Mood (BBC). His debut play ‘Daytime Deewane’; won the 2023 Offie Award for Best Writing. He is a recipient of the 2021 Barbican Open Lab and a finalist of the Roundhouse Poetry Slam.

Khameleon Productions, founded in 2020 by Shivaike Shah, draws on theatre, music and film to develop innovative productions that celebrate the creative power of global majority artists. Khameleon toured their Medea project in 2022 across 14 states on their Uprooting Medea tour sponsored by Brown University, along with the 30-episode Khameleon Classics podcast. Khameleon’s Medea short film (dir. Riffy Ahmed) recently premiered at Exit 6 Film Festival. Founder Shivaike Shah is currently a Creative Assistant in Original Studio Film at Netflix.