Kathryn Hunter joins Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo at the Young Vic following cast illness

The Young Vic has announced a cast change for its current European premiere production of Rajiv Joseph’s Pulitzer and Tony-nominated play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo.

Olivier Award winner Kathryn Hunter has stepped into the role of the Tiger, taking over from BAFTA Award-winner David Threlfall (Shameless, Hangmen), who has left the company due to illness.

Hunter’s most recent stage credits include Echo at the Royal Court, Complicité’s Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, the titular role in King Lear at Shakespeare’s Globe and The Chairs at Almeida Theatre. On screen, she has appeared in the likes of Andor and the Harry Potter film series.

The cast also includes Olivier Award-nominee Arinzé Kene, Ammar Haj Ahmad (The Jungle), Hala Omran (I Medea), 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 until 31 January 2026, with a 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.