Ralph Fiennes to headline series of monologue plays at Bridge Theatre

New David Hare play, a starry revival of Talking Heads and more, as one of London's newest theatres comes back to life

London's Bridge Theatre will resume live performances in late August with a series of monologue plays, the Daily Mail reported. The plays will feature high-profile performers, including the multi-award winning Ralph Fiennes.

The season is planned to commence with Beat the Devil, a new monologue play by David Hare in which Ralph Fiennes will play the author himself. The play focuses on Hare's own experience of contracting and surviving Covid-19, and looks at his frustration with how the public health crisis has been handled by the UK government. It will be directed by Nicholas Hytner.

Next up will be a season of Alan Bennett's beloved Talking Heads series, which will see members of the cast from the recent BBC revival of the popular series reprise their performances. While cast members for the Bridge season have not been confirmed, the latest series included stars such as Imelda Staunton. Tamsin Greig, and Jodie Comer.

After Talking Heads, the theatre will then stage three acclaimed monologue plays by Black playwrights: Quarter Life Crisis, by Yolanda Mercy was previously seen at Soho Theatre and adapted as a radio play for BBC Radio 1xtra;  An Evening With An Immigrant is an autobiographical play by theatre maker and poet Inua Ellams (best known for his hit play Barber Shop Chronicles) and; Zodwa Nyoni's Nine Lives is the story of a gay Zimbabwean who struggles as an asylum seeker in the UK.

All productions at the Bridge are planned to be performed with audiences socially distanced, reducing that venue's capacity.

In a recent government announcement, it was confirmed that Stage Four of the return to live theatre would begin 1 August, permitting indoor performances. This date has now been changed to 15 August.