Kiln Theatre to reopen in May with 3 world premieres

The north London theatre will stage three new works, as well as a major revival.

Kiln Theatre will launch a four-play season in May 2021, featuring three world premieres. The programming will feature Reasons You Should(n't) Love Me by Amy Trigg, NW Trilogy by Moira Buffini, Suhayla El-Bushra and Roy Williams, and The Wife of Willesden adapted by Zadie Smith from Chaucer's The Wife of Bath, and a major revival of Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Ayad Akhtar's The Invisible Hand.

"What we are looking forward to most is welcoming audiences back into our building," artistic director Indhu Rubasingham said in a statement. "We cannot wait to join together in the shared experience of powerful story telling - to come out of our isolation and to laugh, debate and cry in company. This year has convinced us, more than ever before, there is nothing like the power of theatre to unite us and enable us to share the experiences and complexities of our varied lived experiences."

The season will begin with Amy Trigg's Reasons You Should(n't) Love Me, which runs 21 May-12 June. The debut play won the The Women's Prize for Playwriting in 2020 and follows a young woman with spina bifida in a coming-of-age story. Charlotte Bennett will direct.

Next up will be Ayad Akhtar's The Invisible Hand from 1-31 July. Rubasingham will direct the revival of the play about a banker confined to a cell in rural Pakistan, struggling to control his destiny. The play was previously produced by the Kiln Theatre in 2016. Tony Jayawardena, Daniel Lapaine, and Sid Sagar will return to their roles, and Scott Karim also joins the cast.

The world premiere of Moira Buffini, Suhayla El-Bushra and Roy Williams's NW Trilogy will be next. Directed by Taio Lawson and Susie McKenna, the production features three plays that explore the stories of Northwest London, including Buffini's Dance Floor, Williams's Life of Riley, and El Bushra's Waking/Walking. 

For Waking/Walking, the cast stars Anoushka Chadha, Natasha Jayetileke, Rina Fatania, Ronny Jhutti and Claire Keenan. For The Dance Floor, the cast is completed by Claire Keenan, Emmet Byrne, Aoife McMahon and Harmony Rose Bremmer. For The Life of Riley, the cast stars Harmony Rose Bremmer and Chris Tummings.

NW Trilogy will begin previews from 6 September, with an opening night on 14 September and runs to 9 October.

Finally, Kiln Theatre will present the world premiere of The Wife of Willesden, adapted by Zadie Smith from Chaucer's The Wife of Bath. Rubasingham will direct the play, which is a reimagined comedy about one of literature's most iconic characters. The production will have a strictly limited run at dates to be announced.

All productions will be staged in a Covid-safe environment following government guidance.

Tickets for the Kiln Theatre season will be available soon.