Artistic Director Michael Longhurst and Executive Director Henny Finch today announce further programming for the Donmar Warehouse’s 2022 season.
Michael Longhurst, Donmar Artistic Director commented “I am thrilled to be announcing the European premieres of two major Broadway shows, in brand new productions at the Donmar: A Doll’s House, Part 2, an audacious sequel from the dazzling mind of Lucas Hnath starring Noma Dumezweni returning to the London stage; and the deeply moving, awards-sweeping musical The Band’s Visit by David Yazbek and Itamar Moses.
In between, the Donmar breaks new ground platforming the next generation of young performers opposite the current generation’s leading actors in Dawn King’s The Trials, a courtroom drama unlike any other; deepening our investigation into the climate crisis and our sustainability practices. And we are proud to be co-producing with Tara Theatre a vital new commission Silence to mark the 75th anniversary of Partition in India, inspired by extraordinary testimony, acknowledging events that need to be spoken of in Britain.
In a deeply conflicted world, this season celebrates the power of connection to change and heal. Familial, generational, religious, historic – the divisions that sit under these works hold up our need to find and celebrate our shared humanity.
Finally, Donmar Associate artist Joan Iyiola has curated an exhibition WE. BLACK WOMEN., with leading actresses celebrating their unsung heroes, which will run alongside Marys Seacole. It is such a joy to see our theatre full again, with audiences enjoying our recently refurbished spaces. Please do join us for more important stories, thrillingly told.”
10 June – 6 August: James Macdonald directs Lucas Hnath’s A Doll’s House, Part 2 which sees Noma Dumezweni return to the London stage for the first time since her Olivier Award winning performance in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
12 – 27 August: The UK première of Dawn King’s The Trials – directed by Natalie Abrahami, in a Donmar LOCAL production, a timely piece in response to the climate crisis, and the impact on the next generation. Young performers star alongside leading actors (casting to be announced)
1 – 17 September: In a first-time collaboration with Tara Theatre the Donmar will stage Silence, adapted from Kavita Puri’s Partition Voices: Untold British Stories, marking 75 years since the Partition of India, examining the legacy this brutal moment in history leaves us with today.
Abdul Shayek, Artistic Director Tara Theatre added “As Britain holds up a mirror to its colonial history that has shaped our present day reality, many of us are asking questions of our past and who we are. 2022 provides us with the last big milestone before we lose the survivors and their living memory, giving us the chance to understand the human cost of what occurred in 1947, retelling the stories of those who survived Partition and came to the UK. As a group of storytellers we will try to capture the unbiased documentation of these stories in Kavita’s book and the very real need to recognise that this is a shared history, this is our shared history, a British story regardless of the colour of your skin.”
24 September – 3 December: European premiere of David Yazbek and Itamar Moses’ multi-Tony award-winning The Band’s Visit, directed by Donmar Artistic Director Michael Longhurst, his next musical following his Broadway-transferring smash hit Caroline, or Change.
In addition, Donmar today announces a free exhibition from 6 May 2022 in its foyer spaces. WE. BLACK WOMEN. is an exhibition curated by Donmar Associate Artist Joan Iyiola that shifts our perspective on British history by putting the collective experiences of Black women at the centre of the conversation. Featuring Sheila Atim, Joyclen Buffong, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Noma Dumezweni, Dr Christine Ekechi, Decima Francis MBE, Akua Gyamfi, Naomie Harris, Afua Hirsch, Joan Iyiola, Anaya Kamara, Faith Locken, June Nicol-Dundas, Pippa Bennett-Warner and Susan Wokoma.
Every production will have a BSL performance, alongside its captioned and audio described performance offer.
