The West Wing star Joshua Malina to make London stage debut with What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank

A new play by Nathan Englander, What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, directed by Patrick Marber, will have its European premiere at the Marylebone Theatre from 4 October to 23 November 2024.

Joshua Malina, known for his roles in The West Wing and Scandal, will make his London theatre debut as Phil. The play, described as a serious comedy, is based on Englander’s acclaimed, Pulitzer-shortlisted 2011 short story published in the New Yorker. It explores the interactions between two Jewish couples — one secular and the other ultra-Orthodox — as they navigate discussions on identity, politics, parenthood, and more.

Englander said today: “I first wrote What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank as a short story for the New Yorker magazine in 2011 and I’ve been rewriting it in different ways ever since. I think my obsession with the piece is probably because the setup is something I see as an increasingly rare occurrence in our ever more polarised and personalised-algorithm driven lives. That is, two best friends, now on opposite ends of political, religious, and economic spectrums come together to talk and laugh and cry it all out—and to see if any of the love they’ve long felt for each other can survive.”

The play will feature design by Anna Fleischle and sound design by David Gregory. Full casting and the rest of the creative team will be announced soon.