Shakespeare’s Globe confirms company for Timberlake Wertenbaker’s The Animals Come to the Table

Shakespeare’s Globe has announced the cast and creative team for The Animals Come to the Table, a new play by Timberlake Wertenbaker, which will run in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse from 11 December 2026 to 24 January 2027.

Directed by Anthony Lau, the production was originally conceived as part of Burnt at the Stake, or the Whole of the Truthin 2023, when playwrights were invited to share new work anonymously.

The play sees animals summon humanity to the negotiating table, where an army of voices from the natural world demand an end to exploitation and ecological destruction.

The cast comprises Annette Badland as Bea, Rosalind Ford as Ensemble/Cover, Olivier Huband as Pan, Lydia Larson as Maude, Finbar Lynch as Percy, Simon Manyonda as Tony, Tobias Martin-Clarke as Ensemble/Cover and Alex Young as Anna.

Lau said: “Timberlake is one of the foremost dramatists of contemporary theatre and has written a searing call to arms that examines our human relationship with the natural world. The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse walks the line between past and present, and there could be no more fitting an area in which to wrestle with what the future holds for us all.

“Funny, unnerving, and an exercise of the imaginative near future brought to life, it is a real thrill to collaborate with Timberlake on her new play. It is with real excitement that this play is part of Shakespeare’s Globe’s winter season, and it is testament to both the building and Timberlake’s commitment to incendiary drama that entertains and provokes in equal measure.”

The creative team includes assistant director Sofia Gallucci, candlelight designer Elliott Griggs, composer Asaf Zohar, designer Georgia Lowe, movement director Aline David, voice by Adam Wallis and writer Timberlake Wertenbaker.

The production is cast by Becky Paris, head of casting at Shakespeare’s Globe.