Theatre News

Playful Productions confirm McKellen/Stewart No Man's Land is West End bound

The production was announced today as part of the company’s upcoming plans

Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart during a curtain call for Waiting for Godot
Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart during a curtain call for Waiting for Godot
© David Gordon for TheaterMania

Playful Productions, who recently announced a new revival of American Buffalo starring Damian Lewis, has confirmed it is bringing No Man's Land starring Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart to the West End.

Other plans announced by the company today include a new play by David Hare and a "star led musical revival" in collaboration with Chichester Festival Theatre, alongside five new play and musical commissions.

Playful Productions started 2014 with Conor McPherson's The Weir at the Wyndham's Theatre. Transferring from the Donmar Warehouse, the production recouped its costs in just six weeks.

According to press material, "At just four years old, Playful Productions has enjoyed a year of spectacular success in 2014 with a roster of shows that the company either produces or general manages in the UK that has sold a staggering £130 million worth of tickets."

Subsequent projects have included the West End transfer of the RSC's Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, and the UK and Ireland tour of Shrek The Musical. Next year they are also producing the Broadway transfer of The Audience starring Helen Mirren.

Matthew Byam Shaw, Nia Janis and Nick Salmon, directors of Playful Productions, said: "We feel very lucky celebrating Playful's fifth birthday in Covent Garden with our extraordinary team. In the coming year we will be working with a dazzling array of talent including Kristin Scott Thomas, Damian Lewis, Peter Morgan, Hilary Mantel, Stephen Daldry, David Hare and Helen Mirren – a wonderful way to mark this milestone."

Dates and venue are still to be confirmed for No Man's Land, which will mark a return to the West End for McKellen and Stewart following their acclaimed collaboration on Beckett's Waiting for Godot in 2009.

No Man's Land played in rep with Waiting for Godot at The Cort Theatre in New York last autumn.