Young Vic Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah, announces upcoming work for Summer and Autumn 2022.
The drumbeat that inspired a revolution – the story of Mandela and the movement behind him comes to the Young Vic stage in the World Premiere of Mandela, a revolutionary new musical, with a book by Laiona Michelle, music & lyrics by Greg Dean Borowsky & Shaun Borowsky, additional music & lyrics by Bongi Duma, directed by Schele Williams, choreographed by Gregory Maqoma, orchestration and musical supervision by Benjamin Kwasi Burrell, and developed in proud partnership with Nandi Mandela, Luvuyo Madasa and the Mandela family. (Quotes avaliable)
Multi-award-winning director Ivo van Hove presents his blistering production of literary sensation Édouard Louis’ Who Killed My Father, performed as a monologue by acclaimed actor Hans Kesting.
Chasing Hares, a new play by Sonali Bhattacharyya, winner of Theatre Uncut’s 2021 Political Playwriting Award, and directed by Milli Bhatia (seven methods of killings kylie jenner) considers the power of storytelling in imagining a fairer world, in an epic tale about a father’s resistance in the face of exploitation, set between the UK and West Bengal.
The Young Vic’s creative engagement department begins a year of celebrations to mark its 25th anniversary with a series of events entitled Taking Part 25.
Of The Cut co-written by Yasmin Joseph (J’Ouvert) and the company, directed by Philip J Morris (Sessions) brings together the voices and imagination of the Young Vic’s Taking Part community to create a promenade performance piece which blends film, theatre, audio and imagery, using magical realism to imagine what the next 25 years could look like on and around The Cut.
Journeys, a six-part podcast series celebrating local voices in Lambeth and Southwark, uncovers stories with our Neighbourhood Theatre Company, taking a look at the past 25 years and looking ahead to the next.
Taking Part’s 25th anniversary season will conclude with The Twenty Thrive Exhibition, an immersive, interactive exhibition combining archive material, photography, and storytelling to explore the role the Young Vic has played in its community over the past 25 years.
Deirdre McLaughlin the Young Vic’s 2021 Genesis Future Directors Award recipient will direct a devilishly camp social satire The Secretaries by American collective The Five Lesbian Brothers, integrating creative access into the heart of the show.
YV Unpacked returns for its fourth year with a new devised show in The Maria and on tour within Lambeth and Southwark. I Wonder If… will be directed by Daniel Bailey (Red Pitch) and devised by the company which includes John Rwothomach (Far Gone) and Shakira Stellar fusing dance, music and dialogue to explore human relationships in its many forms.
An international collaboration between the Young Vic Taking Part, the Hetrick-Martin Institute in New York City, Jay Jay Revlon, Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu and Kemar Jewel, Communities of Resistance will see a group of young Queer and Black or Global Majority UK-based artists travel to the US to explore the political heritage of ballroom.
Tickets for all Young Vic performances start at £12.50 with Lucky Dip tickets available from £10 and tickets available from £5 with the Young Vic’s £5 First Previews lottery, which opens 48hrs in advance of the performance.
Kwame Kwei-Armah, Young Vic Artistic Director says: “Our Summer/Autumn season is a celebration of community and of resilience – from the stories you find on your doorstep to powerful tales of international resistance – that will bring us together to view the world through the eyes of others and through the lens of their experiences.
Starting with three of this season’s main house shows, intimate familial stories unfold against a backdrop of global struggle from the factory picket lines of West Bengal to France’s Yellow Jacket Protests and the fight against apartheid in South Africa. We invite you to travel the world with us to celebrate the forms of communal strength that have come before.
We open the season with Sonali Bhattacharyya’s Chasing Hares, a tale of defiance, dignity and the power of storytelling in the face of exploitation. Moving from West Bengal to Continental Europe, Who Killed My Father is a son’s poignant account of his relationship with his father and fury at the social deprivation that led to his father’s decline. Finally, we travel to South Africa for a story of hope, the story of Nelson Mandela – father, husband and freedom fighter – his family and the sacrifices they made for a liberated nation in the World Premiere of Mandela, a revolutionary musical.
In the Clare Theatre we will watch gender stereotypes and workplace exploitation be torn apart in the riotous and satirical camp-comedy-horror The Secretaries. Staged and updated for 2022 by our 2021 Genesis Future Directors Award recipient Deirdre McLaughlin.
We stand by the belief that theatre is there for its community – it is our rallying cry and has sat at the centre of the Young Vic’s ethos for the past 25 years. This year we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the beating heart of our organisation, our extraordinary outreach and engagement programme Taking Part, with a joyful season that shines a light on the stories from our vibrant community and the role we, the Young Vic, have played in Lambeth and Southwark over the last quarter of a century.
So please join us as we come together, audience members and artists alike, in the communal space of the Young Vic to celebrate our communities, pay tribute to the stories of hope and resilience and challenge ourselves to see the world from different perspectives.”
Shereen Jasmin Phillips, Director of Young Vic Taking Part says: “I am incredibly proud to present our 25th birthday season of Taking Part work, for, with and by the local community of Lambeth and Southwark. This year we will be connecting our young people with the queer community in New York through our Communities of Resistance project, imagining what the next 25 years will look like through a magical realism lens with our Of The Cut promenade production that will boast a 30 strong intergenerational community ensemble cast! And for a fourth year we will be taking theatre to community centres, hospitals and schools through YV Unpacked: I Wonder If… , which will explore human connection through an array of stories. Taking Part is staunchly committed to continuing joyous & thought provoking work through our local communities over the next 25 years and beyond.”
Full details can be found here
