Hampstead Theatre has announced a new production of Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen, marking the play’s first London staging since its 1998 premiere. Directed by Michael Longhurst, the modern classic opens in March and will star Alex Kingston and Richard Schiff, with further casting to follow.
Inspired by the real life 1941 meeting between Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg, Copenhagen explores the uncertainties at the heart of both atomic physics and human relationships. Their reunion, set against German occupied Denmark, forces the characters to confront secrets, loyalties and unanswered questions that have intrigued historians for decades.
Frayn’s relationship with Hampstead Theatre spans four premieres and multiple revivals. His works include Alphabetical Order, Clouds, Now You Know and Matchbox Theatre, as well as household favourites such as Noises Off and Democracy.
Following Copenhagen, Hampstead will stage the UK premiere of Sarah Ruhl’s romantic comedy Stage Kiss, directed by Blanche McIntyre. The production opens in May and marks the director’s second collaboration with Ruhl after last year’s Letters From Max in Hampstead Downstairs.
Set between the sweeping melodrama of a 1930s tearjerker and a 2011 rehearsal room in New Haven, Stage Kiss blurs the lines between performance and reality. Two actors with a turbulent romantic past find themselves back onstage together, and as opening night nears, unresolved tensions threaten to spill over into real life.
Producer and Chief Executive Greg Ripley-Duggan said: “Hampstead Theatre owes an enormous amount to Michael Frayn: he served on our Board for an amazing 25 years, and was the shrewd and perspicacious leader of the Foundation that created the astonishing building we now occupy. Over the years we’ve premiered four of his works and revived two more, and I’m delighted to have persuaded Michael Longhurst to create a fresh production of Copenhagen, last produced in London in 1998. I’m also overjoyed to be bringing Blanche McIntyre and Sarah Ruhl back together again at Hampstead, this time for Sarah’s brilliant comedy, Stage Kiss. It’s hard to imagine a play more different from Letters from Max, but if this production is even half as good as that one we’re in for a treat!”
These productions join previously announced world premieres from Alexi Kaye Campbell (Bird Grove), Richard Nelson (Springwood), and new works in Hampstead Downstairs from Aaron Loeb, David Pearson and Joshua Harmon. Later in the year, Hampstead will also present the UK premiere of multi Tony Award winning musical Kimberly Akimbo by David Lindsay Abaire and Jeanine Tesori.
Priority booking for Copenhagen and Stage Kiss opens from 5 February, with public booking opening on 10 February at 10.30am.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
