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.