The National Theatre, Gavin Kalin Productions, Mark Gordon Pictures/Eilene Davidson Productions, Seaview and Second Half Productions, release today rehearsal images of the return of the original, smash hit production of People, Places and Things. Duncan Macmillan’s intoxicating play, directed by the acclaimed, award-winning Jeremy Herrin and originally co-produced by the National Theatre and Headlong, will make a triumphant return to London’s West End, running at the Trafalgar Theatre from 3 May until 10 August 2024.
The cast includes, Denise Gough, who is reprising her Olivier Award-winning role as Emma, a struggling actress whose life is spinning recklessly out of control, Sinéad Cusack (V for Vendetta, Warner Bros; Rock ‘n’ Roll, Royal Court Theatre) who is playing the roles of Doctor/Therapist/Mum, Malachi Kirby (Small Axe: Mangrove, BBC; upcoming Anansi Boys, Amazon Prime) who is playing the role of Mark, Danny Kirrane (The Sandman, Netflix; The Serpent Queen, Amazon Prime) who is playing the role of Foster and Kevin McMonagle (Scoop, Netflix; Best of Enemies, Young Vic) who is playing the roles of Dad/Paul.
Holly Atkins (This Country, BBC; Sons of the Prophet, Hampstead Theatre), is playing the role of Charlotte, Paksie Vernon (Shetland, BBC; Angels in America: Part One, National Theatre) is playing the role of Jodi, Ryan Hutton (A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Royal Shakespeare Company; Only Fools and Horses, Theatre Royal Haymarket) is playing the role of Shaun, Ayọ̀ Owóyẹmi-Peters, is making her West End debut playing the role of Laura and Dillon Scott-Lewis (Piglets, ITV; &Juliet, Shaftesbury Theatre) is playing the role of T. Completing the company are Russell Anthony (Call the Midwife, BBC; Trouble in Butetown, Donmar Warehouse) and Louise Templeton (Jayson Bend: Queen and Country, Amazon Prime; Sherlock Holmes: The Final Curtain, Theatre Royal Bath).
Emma was having the time of her life. Now she’s in rehab. Her first step is to admit that she has a problem. But the problem isn’t with Emma, it’s with everything else. She needs to tell the truth. But she’s smart enough to know that there’s no such thing. When intoxication feels like the only way to survive the modern world, how can she ever sober up?
Denise Gough won ‘Best Actress’ at the 2016 Olivier Awards and at the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards for her ‘career defining performance’ (Evening Standard) as Emma in People Places and Things at the National Theatre in 2015. Critics hailed her performance as ‘extraordinary’ (The Observer), ‘ingenious’ (New York Times) and ‘stunning’ (Time Out). She went on to win her second Olivier Award (‘Best Actress in a Supporting Role’, 2018) for her performance in Tony Kushner’s Angels in America for which she was nominated for a Tony Award ® (2018) when the National Theatre production transferred to Broadway. Gough has also been nominated for a British Academy Television Award (2022) for her performance in Clara Salaman incendiary three-part ITV series Too Close. More recently she played the role of Dedra Meero in Disney+’s hugely successful Star Wars spin-off series, Andor.
Duncan Macmillan’s critically acclaimed play ‘mixes dark wit, intellectual ambition and emotional intelligence’ (The Times). Other work includes Every Brilliant Thing (Paines Plough/Pentabus, Edinburgh, UK tour & New York), George Orwell’s 1984 (adapted with Robert Icke, Headlong/Nottingham Playhouse/Almeida/West End), Lungs (Paines Plough & Sheffield Theatres, Washington DC), Don Juan Comes Back From the War (Finborough) and Monster (Royal Exchange, Manchester).
Jeremy Herrin is Co-Director of Second Half Productions. His ‘endlessly inventive staging’ (New York Times) of People Places and Things was during his tenure as Artistic Director of Headlong (2013-2020). Current work includes his critically acclaimed production of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night, starring Brian Cox, at Wyndham’s Theatre and A Mirror at Trafalgar Theatre. Other recent work includes Ulster American (Riverside Studios) and 2022 South Bank Show Award for ‘Best Theatre Production’, Best of Enemies (Young Vic/ West End).
People, Places and Things garnered widespread critical acclaim when it had its world premiere at the National Theatre’s Dorfman theatre in September 2015 in a co-production with Headlong. The production transferred to Wyndham’s Theatre in March 2016 in London’s West End before transferring to St. Ann’s Warehouse in New York in October 2017.
The creative team includes director, Jeremy Herrin; set designer, Bunny Christie; costume designer, Christina Cunningham; lighting designer, James Farncombe; music, Matthew Herbert; sound designer, Tom Gibbons; video designer, Andrzej Goulding; movement director, Polly Bennett; casting by Jessica Ronane CDG CSA; and original casting by Wendy Spon.
Bunny Christie will recreate her ‘cabinet-of-curiosities’ (New York Times) set design with on-stage seating, bringing an element of intimacy to this vivid and transfixing portrayal of addiction.
