Almeida confirms King Charles III transfer and announces autumn season
The Almeida Theatre has announced its autumn season, which includes a new work by London Road's Alecky Blythe about the 2011 riots and the UK premiere of David Cromer’s acclaimed production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town.
The Almeida, led by Rupert Goold, has also confirmed the West End transfer of Mike Bartlett’s recent play King Charles III to the West End's Wyndham’s Theatre in the autumn.
King Charles III will open in the West End on 11 September 2014 (previews from 2 September), running until 29 November. It's the fourth production to transfer from the Islington venue within the last year, following Chimerica, Ghosts and 1984, which recently extended at the Playhouse.
Opening the new season is Alecky Blythe's Little Revolution, which premieres on 3 September (previews from 26 August). The play, which uses Blythe's signature verbatim technique, is based on testimony by those caught up in the 2011 riots, which were sparked by a protest in Tottenham and soon spread across the capital and the country.
Echoing David Greig's The Events, the production will include a community chorus recruited from Islington and Hackney by the Almeida Projects Team.
Little Revolution is directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins, who worked with Blythe on her 2008 play The Girlfriend Experience. Casting is to be announced.
It's followed by Our Town, running from 17 October to 29 November (previews from 17 October). Thornton Wilder's 1938 drama is set in a fictional American small town, examining the lives of the community over a decade-long period in the early 20th century.
US director David Cromer's award-winning, stripped-back production ran for over a year at the Barrow Theatre in New York, and was subsequently revived in Los Angeles and Boston.
Next up at the Almeida is the European premiere of Anne Washburn's "post electric play" Mr Burns, starring Jenna Russell and directed by Robert Icke (1984), which opens on 12 June 2014 (previews from 5 June).
