The Barbican have announced their full January to July 2016 programme.
Katie Mitchell will bring her Schaubuhne Berlin production of The Forbidden Zone to London for its UK premiere (26-29 May). The play is a female perspective on war and the advance of chemical weapons.
Another UK premiere will be the new Robert Lepage production of Needles and Opium, inspired by the lives of Jean Cocteau and Miles Davis, which is directed by the French-Canadian theatre maestro (7-16 July).
French film actress Isabelle Huppert will also appear in the new season in a production of Phaedra(s) directed by Polish auteur Krzysztof Warlikowski (9-18 June). The piece is a co-production between the Barbican and LIFT 2016 and draws on the writings of Sarah Kane, Wajdi Mouawad and JM Coetzee.
Maverick theatre company Forced Entertainment will also bring their epic undertakingComplete Works to the Barbican (1-6 March). The piece involves all 36 of Shakespeare’s plays being performed in condensed form, using only everyday objects as a cast.
It will also be the first time that New York company Split Britches will appear at the theatre. Actor and writer Peggy Shaw will perform her piece Ruff which looks at life before and after a stroke (14-16 April).
The Shadow King is a UK premiere from Australian company Malthouse. The piece reimagines King Lear as a tale of two indigenous families (22 June – 2 July). Michael Kantor directs the piece, and Tom E Lewis leads the cast.
Alongside these are the previously announced The Encounter by Simon McBurney, and Kings of War by Toneelgroep Amsterdam.
Tickets for the productions (unless specified) are available to Barbican Members Plus from today, to Barbican Members on Monday 12 October and on general sale from Thursday 15 October.