The Almeida Theatre announces Rupert Goold’s final season as Artistic Director
The final season of Goold’s tenure as Artistic Director: 10 productions, including four world premieres, a musical revival, and reimaginings of classic plays.
- The world premiere of Romans: a novel, a new play by award-winning writer Alice Birch, featuring Kyle Soller and directed by Sam Pritchard.
- Tony Award winner Michael Grandage directs the world premiere of The Line of Beauty, adapted by Olivier Award nominee Jack Holden from Alan Hollinghurst’s Booker Prize-winning novel.
- Olivier Award winner Sam Grabiner presents the world premiere of Christmas Day, directed by James Macdonald.
- In his final production as Almeida Artistic Director, Rupert Goold revisits his acclaimed production of musical thriller American Psycho.
- Following her Olivier Award-winning performance in The Years, Romola Garai returns to the Almeida in HenrikIbsen’s A Doll’s House, in a new version by Anya Reiss, directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins.
- An adaptation of Babak Anvari’s BAFTA-winning film Under the Shadow by Carmen Nasr, featuring Leila Farzad and directed by Nadia Latif.
- Rebecca Frecknall directs Sarah Kane’s masterpiece Cleansed, her final production as Almeida Associate Director.
- Sam Yates directs BAFTA winner Josh O’Connor in Clifford Odets’ American classic, Golden Boy.
- Former Almeida Resident Director Ebenezer Bamgboye returns to direct Zackary Momoh in a revival of Desire Under the Elms by Eugene O’Neill.
Also announced
- 81 (Life) the second in a trilogy of plays exploring what it means to live, work, love, pray, celebrate and mourn in Islington, co-created by Rhianna Ilube with 81 local people and presented in partnership with All Change and Cardboard Citizens.
- The Almeida Theatre is one of six theatres to join the newly launched National Youth Advisory Board, established to unite discussions about change in the industry.
- The Almeida’s office and rehearsal space will undergo significant refurbishment to improve accessibility, sustainability, and artistic potential.
Almeida Artistic Director Rupert Goold said, “Today we announce my final season as Artistic Director at the Almeida. A season that, I hope, captures the spirit and values of our past 12 years. We present 10 productions including four world premieres, four revivals of classic plays and a revisit of the musical from my first season at the Almeida.
“New writing has always been a central pillar of our work so I’m proud to be premiering brand new plays from four of the most exciting voices in the country. Three of the writers are new to us in Alice Birch, Jack Holden and Sam Grabiner, while Carmen Nasr returns following her Almeida Young Company production The Maladies in 2022.
“Another artist continuing their journey with us is Ebenezer Bamgboye who was on our Resident Director Scheme in 2018 and now gives his take on Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under the Elms, featuring Zackary Momoh. This great American play joins Joe Hill-Gibbins and Anya Reiss’ new version of A Doll’s House, with Romola Garai following up her Olivier Award-winning performance in The Years; Rebecca Frecknall’s production of Sarah Kane’s infamous Cleansed; and Josh O’Connor featuring in Clifford Odets’ Golden Boy, directed by Sam Yates.
“I will be revisiting my production of American Psycho, the show with which I launched my tenure back in 2013 – partly to explore what may have changed since then.
“It’s a complex feeling to leave Islington and this unique theatre for a new challenge south of the river so it’s particularly pleasing that before I go, we will also present the second instalment of our Islington Trilogy community productions – a project that celebrates Islington and everyone who lives and works here. While we have looked to the world for our stories, our artists and our influence, our identity has remained as a local theatre.
“I look forward to seeing you over the next 18 months and thank you to everyone – artists, makers, supporters and above all audiences – for your support over the last decade.”
The Almeida Theatre, in partnership with All Change and Cardboard Citizens, presents
81 (LIFE)
Co-Created by Rhianna Ilube with 81 local people
Creative Direction by Dani Parr and Stephanie Bain
Thursday 21 August – Saturday 23 August 2025
Highbury Fields. Islington. A day in August 2025. 8.13pm.
60 strangers gather at a park at sunset. They don’t know why they are here, or who invited them, but here they are.
Here you are, too.
They arrive, and they settle into a rhythm. A woman lies alone on the grass. Three old friends catch each other’s eye. A tai-chi teacher sets up shop.
Each of these people are grappling with something big. A turning point, a sliding door, a question without an answer. And tonight they are all going to take their next big step. You’re welcome to join. In fact, we’d love for you to join.
Part poem, part game-show and part play, with original music by Alev Lenz, 81 (Life) is the second instalment of the Almeida’s ‘Islington Trilogy’, following 24 (Day) in 2023. Co-created by playwright Rhianna Ilube, in collaboration with associate artists Darragh O’Leary, Francesca Beard, Ella Zgorska, Jordana Golbourn and over 60 people from three community groups, 81 (Life) is an epic and heartfelt investigation into what it means to be human.
The final instalment of the community trilogy, 1000 (Millennia), will take place in 2026.
81 (Life) is supported by Big Give – Arts for Impact, Islington Giving and Islington Council’s Community Festivals Fund.
World Premiere
ROMANS
A NOVEL
by Alice Birch
Director: Sam Pritchard; Set & Costume Designer: Merle Hensel; Lighting Designer: Lee Curran; Sound Designer: Benjamin Grant; Casting Director: Amy Ball CDG
Tuesday 9 September – Saturday 11 October 2025
Adventure and Truth. Sacrifice everything for it. It is worth it.
HE is a motherless child. A bullied schoolboy. An adventurer scaling mountains. A coloniser of land, of people. Brother. Father. Soldier. Cult leader. He is sipping champagne at his book launch. He is up by 4am for weights, cardio, ice bath. He is recording a podcast. He is living as a badger.
Award-winning writer Alice Birch’s (Anatomy of a Suicide; Normal People) monumental, kaleidoscopic portrait of masculinity from the nineteenth century to the present day explores how male narratives have shaped the world we know, featuring Olivier Award winner Kyle Soller (The Inheritance; Andor) anddirected by former Royal Court Associate Director Sam Pritchard.
World Premiere
THE LINE OF BEAUTY
Based on the novel by Alan Hollinghurst
Adapted by Jack Holden
Director: Michael Grandage; Set & Costume Designer: Christopher Oram;Lighting Designer: Howard Hudson;Sound Designer & Composer: Adam Cork;Movement & Intimacy Director: Ben Wright; Casting Director: Sophie Holland CDG
Tuesday 21 October – Saturday 29 November 2025
I can’t explain it. I can’t explain any of it to you. The line of beauty which led me to him… to here.
London. Summer, 1983.
Nick Guest moves into the grand Notting Hill home of his university friend Toby — and into the dazzling world of Toby’s father Gerald, a newly elected Tory MP, his elegant wife Rachel, and their troubled daughter Cat. From private gardens to country estates, glittering parties to political dinners, Nick is swept up in a world of money, power and privilege. A world that promises everything — and exacts a cost.
As he pursues beauty in all its forms — aesthetic, erotic, aspirational — Nick finds himself caught between the freedoms of desire and the rigid boundaries of class, sexuality and public image in a rapidly changing Britain.
The Line of Beauty is a captivating portrait of Thatcher’s Britain at its most decadent and divisive, based on the Booker Prize-winning novel by “one of the greatest writers of our time” (The Guardian) Alan Hollinghurst. Olivier Award nominee Jack Holden’s (Cruise; Kenrex) new adaptation of this poignant book is directed by Tony Award winner Michael Grandage.
The Line of Beauty is generously supported by The Charlotte Aitken Trust.
World Premiere
CHRISTMAS DAY
by Sam Grabiner
Director: James Macdonald;Set Designer: Miriam Buether;Casting Director: Amy Ball CDG
Tuesday 9 December 2025 – Saturday 10 January 2026
There’s something perverted about a Christmas tree.
They’ve got an aura.
It looks perverted and it gives me the creeps.
In an abandoned building somewhere above the Northern Line, with foxes prowling the deserted streets outside, a Jewish family gathers on Christmas Day.
A viciously funny new play about identity, belonging, and the rituals we perform with the people we love.
James Macdonald (Infinite Life; The Children) directs a darkly comic world premiere from Olivier Award-winning playwright Sam Grabiner (Boys on the Verge of Tears).
AMERICAN PSYCHO
Book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Music and Lyrics by Duncan Sheik
Based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis
Directed by Rupert Goold
Saturday 24 January – Saturday 14 March 2026
There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory.
Patrick Bateman has it all – looks, money, style and status. Engaged to the beautiful Evelyn Williams, he is about to win the prestigious Fischer account for his investment bank and celebrate by dining at Dorsia. But there’s another side to his life that Patrick keeps secret. And people – including those closest to him – keep disappearing…
Almeida Artistic Director Rupert Goold revives his ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “stunning” (WhatsOnStage) musical, from the composer of Spring Awakening. An Almeida sell-out success, this darkly satirical commentary on capitalism “leaves us all dangerously entertained” (TheGuardian).
A DOLL’S HOUSE
by Henrik Ibsen
In a new version by Anya Reiss
Directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins
Tuesday 31 March – Saturday 16 May 2026
If I get run over tomorrow, how are you paying off the Amex?
If you get run over tomorrow, I’ll fling myself in the road after you.
Nora and Torvald’s marriage vows are a binding contract, but when scandal threatens to wreck their lives, it’s time to renegotiate the terms. Money, sex, power – this time nothing’s off the table.
Romola Garai returns to the Almeida, following her Olivier Award-winning performance in The Years, to play Nora in Henrik Ibsen’s subversive domestic tragedy. In a new version by Critics’ Circle Award winner Anya Reiss (Becoming Elizabeth; The Seagull), Joe Hill-Gibbins (The Tragedy of King Richard the Second; Ghosts) directs this provocative drama about the lies we tell to keep things sweet at home.
World Premiere
UNDER THE SHADOW
Based on the film by Babak Anvari
Adapted by Carmen Nasr
Directed by Nadia Latif
Tuesday 2 June – Saturday 4 July 2026
They travel on the wind, just like that missile, and they only land once they find someone to possess.
When Shideh’s husband is conscripted to serve on the frontline, she is left alone with her young daughter as Tehran is bombed. The missile strikes bring terror and destruction and something more ancient and malevolent carried on the wind.
Nadia Latif (Fairview; Marys Seacole) directs Leila Farzad (I Hate Suzie; Kaos) in Carmen Nasr’s (The Maladies; The Climbers) eerie adaptation of Babak Anvari’s BAFTA-winning horror film. Set amid the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, Under the Shadow explores the boundary between the rational and the irrational, and the question of whether to leave or stay.
CLEANSED
by Sarah Kane
Directed by Rebecca Frecknall
Tuesday 21 July – Saturday 22 August 2026
I love you now.
I’m with you now.
I’ll do my best, moment to moment, not to betray you. Now.
That’s it. No more. Don’t make me lie to you.
Two lovers and two siblings.
How far are they prepared to go to prove their devotion? And will their love survive when subjected to the most extreme violence?
Sarah Kane was one of the most original and controversial voices in British playwriting history. Rebecca Frecknall (A Streetcar Named Desire; Cabaret)directs Kane’s masterpiece which explores the brutality of desire and asks what happens to love when there’s nothing else worth living for?
GOLDEN BOY
by Clifford Odets
Directed by Sam Yates
Tuesday 8 September – Saturday 31 October 2026
I’m out for fame and fortune, not to be different or artistic! I don’t intend to be ashamed of my life!
1930s New York, at the height of the Depression.
Joe Bonaparte is a gifted young violinist with extraordinary talent and a future in music, until a chance at fame and fortune lures him into the brutal world of professional boxing. Pressured by a ruthless manager, tempted by a forbidden love, and bound by the expectations of his Italian-American family, Joe is a young man torn between the seductive promise of the American Dream and the quiet honour of a decent life. He must confront what he’s willing to sacrifice, who he’s willing to become, and how to find his place in a world that demands he choose a side.
Olivier Award winner Sam Yates (VANYA; Magpie) directs BAFTA winner Josh O’Connor (The Crown; Challengers) in this searing revival of Clifford Odets’ knockout American classic. Brought to life with a live string quartet, this propulsive drama explores ambition, identity, and the high price of success.
DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS
by Eugene O’Neill
Directed by Ebenezer Bamgboye
Tuesday 10 November – Saturday 19 December 2026
Ye can’t beat Nature, didn’t ye say?
As Eben and his half-brothers toil on their family farm, they dream of the future.
Peter and Simeon are lured by California and the promise of gold, while Eben longs to have the farm all to himself.
Any fantasies are on hold until the return of their patriarch Ephraim, who disappeared without a word two months ago. And when he does finally resurface, he is not alone. An unexpected companion instantly explodes both the status quo and their imagined futures.
Former Almeida Resident Director Ebenezer Bamgboye (The Lonely Londoners) directs Zackary Momoh (Seven Seconds; Harriet) in four-time Pulitzer Prize winner Eugene O’Neill’s shattering twentieth-century classic, inspired by Greek tragedy, about a raging battle between the passion of the heart and the reason of the mind.
NATIONAL ADVISORY YOUTH BOARD
Young people representing six theatres from across the UK have launched a national network of Youth Advisory Boards, to unite discussions about change in the industry.
Youth Advisory Board members from the Almeida Theatre, Capital Theatres Edinburgh, Chichester Festival Theatre, Curve Theatre,Leicester, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, and the RSC are spearheading the initiative to launch a National Youth Advisory Board (NYAB). Organisations nationwide have been invited to collaborate, to ensure regions across the country are represented.
The aim of NYAB is to generate positive change by:
- Combining collective energy to advocate for a more inclusive industry
- Promoting the representation of young people and under-represented groups both on and off stage, in programming and decision-making
- Sharing resources, ideas, and opportunities between organisations
An exploratory meeting was hosted by the Almeida Theatre in 2024, and a first formal meeting is scheduled to be held in June, chaired and hosted by the RSC.
ACCESS AND SUSTAINABILITY
From May to July, the Almeida’s office and rehearsal space will undergo significant refurbishment to improve accessibility, sustainability, and artistic potential.
Key upgrades include:
- A new, fully accessible entrance for wheelchair users
- Enhanced technical and structural facilities in the rehearsal room
- Replacement of all windows to improve insulation and energy efficiency
These improvements are designed to reduce our energy consumption by 15%, supporting our commitment to full decarbonisation by 2030. As a participant in Julie’s Bicycle’s Capital Investment Programme, we’re proud to be taking meaningful steps toward a more sustainable future.
We are grateful to Arts Council England’s Capital Investment Programme and Garfield Weston Foundation whose support has made this work possible.