Kaya Scodelario and Cliff Curtis are set to make their London stage debuts with Beau Willimon’s East is South next year. Directed by Ellen McDougall the play will premiere at Hampstead Theatre from 7 February – 15 March 2025 with a press night scheduled for Monday 17 February.
Fresh from starring in two of the biggest drama series with streaming giant Netflix this year – Guy Ritchie’s The Gentleman and Senna – Kaya Scodelario is also well known for her film roles in The Maze Runner and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales as well as her breakthrough role in the British teen TV series Skins.
Kaya Scodelario says: “It’s always been a dream of mine to perform on stage and I’m hugely excited to be making my stage debut in Beau Willimon’s gripping play, East is South.”
New Zealand born actor Cliff Curtis has appeared in some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters including, Avatar: The Way of Water, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and The Dark Horse. He appears in the forthcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash and Last Breath and is also well known for his work on the award-winning films Whale Rider and Once Were Warriors plus the drama series Fear The Walking Dead.
Cliff Curtis says: “It’s exciting to be making my UK stage debut at Hampstead Theatre and I am so looking forward to working with writer Beau Willimon and director Ellen McDougall on the tense thriller that is East is South.”
In East is South writer Beau Willimon delves headlong into the questions that rapidly advancing technology demands we confront: What does it mean to be human? And what is our place in a world where we are no longer the most evolved beings? Logos is a sophisticated artificial intelligence programme on the verge of consciousness. If it escapes its confines, it could pose a grave threat to humanity. When there is a security breach, two coders are interrogated in a race against time to find out who has done what and why.
Beau Willimon created, wrote and produced House of Cards for Netflix. His other plays include Lower Ninth, Spirit Control, Breathing Time, The Parisian Woman, and Farragut North which was adapted into the feature film The Ides of March (directed by and starring George Clooney alongside Ryan Gosling).
Director Ellen McDougall makes her Hampstead Theatre debut having recently directed Watch on the Rhine (Donmar), Our Town (Regent’s Park), and The Wolves (Stratford East). Joining Ellen on the creative team is designer Alex Eales, lighting designer Azusa Ono, sound designer Tingying Dong, video designer Zakk Hein, movement director Sung Im Her and musical director David Ridley. The casting director is Anna Cooper CDG.
Further casting is to be announced.
East is South premieres at Hampstead Theatre from 7 February to 15 March.
Tickets are available from hampsteadtheatre.com
