Young Vic announces productions of The Homecoming and Nachtland

The Young Vic has announced two new productions – a revival of Harold Pinter’s modern classic The Homecoming, and the UK premiere of German playwright Marius von Mayenburg’s satire Nachtland.

Running from 27 November 2023 to 27 January 2024, The Homecoming will be directed by Matthew Dunster (2:22 A Ghost Story, Hangmen, Shirley Valentine), with design by Moi Tran.

The play is set in east London and centres on a family of butchers, boxers and brutes. When academic son Teddy returns home from America, with a wife his family have never met, a strange and carnal power struggle between man, wife and in-laws ensues.

Dunster said: “I’ve always loved Pinter’s work. He can take working class situations and hone them into something really poetic, crystalised and potent. His plays are about patriarchal force and what it takes to resist that, whether at home or in the state. The Homecoming encapsulates this and poses big, universal questions about power. I’m excited by the challenge of this play and I can’t wait to return to the Young Vic.”

It’s followed, from 20 February to 20 April 2024, by Nachtland, which is translated by Maja Zade and directed by Patrick Marber. Billed as a mordant satire about marriage, legacy, and the rise of the new right, it sees as a family argue over what to do with a piece of art that may have been painted by Hitler.

Marber, whose own plays include Closer and Dealer’s Choice, said: “Nachtland is a jagged, modern satire but when the laughter stops, there’s a haunting disquiet underneath. I want the show to be thrilling and surprising, the kind of theatre I love.”

The production, which is supported by producers Scott Delman and Sonia Friedman, will be designed by Anna Fleischle.

“I’m overjoyed to welcome Matthew and Patrick to dance with one of our mightiest modern classics and an electrifying new work I’m convinced will be a future classic,” said Young Vic artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah. “These are plays that test and entertain us, in the hands of brilliant artists.”

Casting for both productions is still to be announced.