Full cast set for Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo at the Young Vic – including Patrick Gibson

Final casting has been announced for the European premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Pulitzer and Tony-nominated play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, which opens at the Young Vic later this year.

Joining the previously announced BAFTA award-winner David Threlfall (Shameless, Hangmen) as the titular Tiger, Olivier Award-nominee Arinzé Kene (Misty, Death of a Salesman), Ammar Haj Ahmad (The Jungle), and Hala Omran (I Medea), will be Dexter: Original Sin lead Patrick Gibson, Sofia Asir (two Palestinians go dogging), and Sayyid Aki (Community).

Directed by Omar Elerian (Rhinoceros), the surreal dark comedy runs in the Young Vic’s Main House from 2 December 2025 to 31 January 2026, with press night set for 9 December.

Set in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein, the play follows two American Marines and an Iraqi translator whose lives collide with a prowling Tiger searching for meaning, revenge, and – unexpectedly – a solid gold toilet seat. Blending the real and the absurd, Joseph’s drama was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and first premiered on Broadway in 2011, where it earned multiple Tony Award nominations.

The creative team includes designer Rajha Shakiry, lighting designer Jackie Shemesh, sound designer Elena Peña, and movement director Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster.

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo is the third production in Nadia Fall’s inaugural season as Artistic Director of the Young Vic, following Joe Orton’s Entertaining Mr Sloane and Edinburgh hit Ohio. The season also features Museum of Austerity, Broken Glass, Alexander Zeldin’s Care, and the world premiere of Sophie Swithinbank’s Sting.

The production runs from 2 December 2025 to 31 January 2026, with access performances including BSL, captioned, relaxed, and audio described dates throughout January. Tickets are now on sale via the Young Vic website.