Full casting has been announced for What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, a new serious comedy by Nathan Englander, based on his acclaimed 2011 short story in The New Yorker, directed by Patrick Marber, open at the Marylebone Theatre 4 October to 23 November 2024, with a national press night on Monday 14 October.
Joining the previously announced West Wing, Scandal and The Big Bang Theory star Joshua Malina, making his London theatre debut as ‘Phil’, will be Caroline Catz (best known for her roles as ‘Louisa’ in ITV’s Doc Martin and ‘DI Helen Morton’ in DCI Banks also for ITV) as ‘Debbie’, Dorothea Myer-Bennett (Offie Award-winning actress whose extensive stage credits include Nachtland at the Young Vic and in Leopoldstadt in the West End, both directed by Patrick Marber) as ‘Shoshana’, Simon Yadoo (recently seen in Love’s Labour’s Lost and The School for Scandal on tour for Changeling Theatre) as ‘Yerucham’ and Gabriel Howell (most recently seen in The Unfriend at Chichester and in the West End, and soon to be starring in the live action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon) as ‘Trevor’.
From the director of the Olivier and Tony Award-winning Leopoldstadt, and the producer of 2023’s The White Factory, What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank is based on Nathan Englander’s short story collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank that was first published in 2012, winning the 2012 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Nathan Englander said, “I first wrote What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank as a short story for the New Yorker Magazine in 2011 and I’ve been rewriting it in different ways ever since. I think my obsession with the piece is probably because the setup is something I see as an increasingly rare occurrence in our ever more polarized and personalized-algorithm driven lives. That is, two best friends, now on opposite ends of political, religious, and economic spectrums come together to talk and laugh and cry it all out—and to see if any of the love they’ve long felt for each other can survive.
As for working with Patrick Marber, it’s been a dream. We dove into a rewrite of the play more than a year ago and have not come up for air since. It’s been some of the most intense and joyous and depressing work I’ve ever done, and beyond symbiotic tackling the piece together. As relates to the difference in our own styles of communication, I’d like to take this moment to apologize to Patrick for interrupting every single sentence he’s tried to utter (but I highly doubt I’ll stop).”
Patrick Marber said, “I’ve loved Nathan Englander’s work since I read his astounding debut short story collection, ‘For The Relief Of Unbearable Urges’. I’m very excited to be directing this UK premiere of his new play. It’s a rare thing to find a comedy that is both hilarious and deeply serious. I’m greatly looking forward to rehearsals with this exceptional cast and with the remarkable Mr Englander in attendance.”
What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank will be directed by Patrick Marber, with design by Anna Fleischle, lighting design by Sally Ferguson and sound design by David Gregory. Associate direction is by Natalie Simone, with movement direction from EJ Boyle and costume supervision by Chantal Short. Casting advisor is Helena Palmer.
