The Almeida Theatre announces initial casting for upcoming productions Otherland and Rhinoceros
- Jade Anouka, Jackie Clune, Fizz Sinclair and Amanda Wilkin cast in the world premiere of Otherland, a new play by Chris Bush, the playwright behind the Olivier Award-winning Standing at the Sky’s Edge, directed by Ann Yee.
- Following his critically acclaimed production of The Chairs, Omar Elerian returns to the Almeida to direct Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù in his version of Eugène Ionesco’s absurdist satire Rhinoceros.
Otherland opens on Thursday 20 February 2025, with previews from Wednesday 12 February, and runs until Saturday 15 March.
Rhinoceros opens on Tuesday 1 April 2025, with previews from Tuesday 25 March, and runs until Saturday 26 April.
Further casting for both productions will be announced in due course.
OTHERLAND
by Chris Bush
Director: Ann Yee; Set Designer: Fly Davis; Costume Designer: Milla Clarke; Lighting Designer: Anna Watson; Sound Designer: Pete Malkin; Composer and Music Supervisor: Jennifer Whyte; Casting Director: Amy Ball CDG
Wednesday 12 February – Saturday 15 March 2025
Jo and Harry are changing.
Harry is changing more than most, undeniably,
And change is beautiful. Necessary. Terrifying.
Break-ups aren’t just about who gets the CD collection. As Jo and Harry begin to untangle themselves from each other, new worlds start to open up – worlds filled with new partners, new identities, new possibilities. What kind of women do they want to be, and do they have the courage, or the permission, to get there?
From Chris Bush, the playwright behind the Olivier Award-winning Standing at the Sky’s Edge, and director and choreographer Ann Yee (Next to Normal; The Human Body),Otherland explores what it means to be true to yourself in the face of unstoppable change.
Cast includes Jade Anouka, Jackie Clune, Fizz Sinclair and Amanda Wilkin, with further casting to be announced.
RHINOCEROS
by Eugène Ionesco
Translator and Director: Omar Elerian; Set and Costume Designer: Ana Inés Jabares-Pita; Lighting Designer: Jackie Shemesh; Sound Designer: Elena Peña; Casting Director: Amy Ball CDG
Tuesday 25 March – Saturday 26 April 2025
Who knows what is good and what is evil? You’re only concerned with yourself. That’s the truth. But you’ll never really become a rhinoceros… you haven’t got the chops!
A provincial town in France.
Jean meets his friend Berenger for a drink, but things take an unexpected turn when a rhinoceros charges through the town square. After all, there are no rhinoceroses in France, right?
Suddenly, one by one the townspeople are transforming into the thing they first feared. An epidemic has taken hold and rhinoceritis is spreading like wildfire, until there are almost no human beings left.
Returning to the Almeida following his ★★★★★ (The Telegraph) production of The Chairs, Omar Elerian directs and translates Eugène Ionesco’s absurdist satire about resisting conformity and holding onto what’s left of our humanity as we resist the rumbling power of the herd.
Cast includes Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, with further casting to be announced.
