Theatre News

Billie Piper to return in Yerma in Young Vic's new season

”Atonement” director Joe Wright will also stage a production as part of the line up

Billie Piper in Yerma
Billie Piper in Yerma
© Johan Persson

Billie Piper is to return to London with her acclaimed portrayal of Lorca's heroine Yerma.

Simon Stone's production of Yerma garnered rave reviews last year after it opened at the Young Vic in August. Piper starred in the titular role, winning an Evening Standard Award and a WhatsOnStage Award nomination for her turn.

The show will run between 26 July and 31 August and Maureen Beattie, Brendan Cowell, John MacMillan and Charlotte Randle will re-join Piper in the cast.

Brendan Cowell, who made his Young Vic debut opposite Piper last year, will take on the lead role in a new production of Brecht's Life of Galileo, directed by Joe Wright.

Bafta-winning Wright returns to the Young Vic after his 2012 staging of A Season in the Congo. Galileo will be designed by Lizzie Clachlan and have video from 59 Productions. The show will run from 6 May to 24 June.

Elsewhere in the new season, Juliet Stevenson will star in a new production of Wings, directed by Natalie Abrahami. Arthur Kopit's Pulitzer-nominated drama follows a woman who struggles to make sense of her world after she suffers a stroke. Abrahami and Stevenson reunite to work on the project following Happy Days which ran at the Young Vic in 2014 and 2015. Wings runs from 14 September to 28 October.

Ramin Gray and David Greig's production of The Suppliant Women will also make its London premiere as part of the season. The show, which is an adaptation of Aeschylus' ancient Greek play, features a community chorus and runs from 13 to 25 November. The show opened in Edinburgh to strong reviews, including four stars from WhatsOnStage.

In the theatre's Maria studio, Taha is the story of Palestinian poet Taha Muhammad Ali, written and performed by Amer Hlehel and runs from 5 to 15 July. The Maria also hosts Nina – a story about me and Nina Simone in July, created by Josette Bushell-Mingo.

The Edinburgh Festival hit How to Win Against History will also run in the Maria Theatre in November. Seiriol Davies' musical about the 5th Marquis of Anglesey became an overnight sensation at the Fringe in 2016, receiving a string of very strong reviews, including five stars from WhatsOnStage.

Artistic director David Lan said: "We want every show we stage to evoke the world on our streets. As life becomes ever more complex and surprising, we look for the best angles from which to watch and intervene."

Public booking for the season goes on sale on Wednesday 1 February, while members booking opens today.