DONMAR WAREHOUSE ANNOUNCES NEW PRODUCTIONS
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF THE KING’S RANSOM BY STUART SLADE
& A MAJOR REVIVAL OF HAROLD PINTER’S NO MAN’S LAND
WITH SIMON RUSSELL BEALE AND RUPERT EVERETT
ALSO ANNOUNCED TODAY –
THE FULL CAST FOR THE WORLD PREMIERE OF DANNY LEE WYNTER’S ILFORD BOY
AND THE RECIPIENTS OF THE 2026 THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET WRITERS AWARD
With the critically acclaimed The Guilty running at the theatre, the Donmar Warehouse’s Artistic Director Tim Sheader and Executive Director Henny Finch today announce further programming for the 2026/2027 season.
In December, the Donmar will present the world premiere of a new play by Bruntwood Prize-winning playwright Stuart Slade – The King’s Ransom. Directed by Matthew Dunster, who returns to the Donmar after the sell-out critically acclaimed revival of Dealer’s Choice, the play is inspired by one of the strangest crime stories in American history – the plot to steal the earthly remains of The King of Rock and Roll.
The Donmar will then stage a major revival of Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land, directed by Patrick Marber who continues his creative collaboration with the Donmar following After Miss Julie, Don Juan in Soho, his adaptation of Trelawny of the “Wells”, and the recent revival of Dealer’s Choice. Marber directs Simon Russell Beale, Rupert Everett, Olivier Huband and Jay Simpson.
Also announced today is the full company for the world premiere of Danny Lee Wynter’s Ilford Boy. Donmar Artistic Director Tim Sheader directs Lindsey Coulson (Eileen), Cary Crankson (Trevor), Gershwyn Eustache Jnr (Ken), Aaron Gill (Raj), Charlotte Jaconelli (Ann), Sinead Matthews (Jackie), Craig Stein (Patrick), Leo Whitfield-Harris (Ted), and Ria Zmitrowicz (Tillie).
Azuka Oforka and Rafaella Marcus have been selected as the recipients of the 2026 Theatre Royal Haymarket Writers Award, presented in partnership with Access Entertainment, owner of the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Established to support the development of outstanding playwrights and help bring new voices to the UK’s major stages, the Award commissions two writers each year to develop a new play. Recipients receive a full commission alongside access to the Donmar’s artistic team, who support the research and development of their work through readings, workshops and collaboration with professional actors.
Artistic Director Tim Sheader and Executive Director Henny Finch said “We are delighted today to announce two new shows coming up at the Donmar. We know Matthew Dunster is going to thrill audiences over the festive season with Stuart Slade’s new play The King’s Ransom based on an outrageous and hilarious true crime story. And in 2027 we look forward to welcoming Patrick Marber back to the Donmar to direct Harold Pinter’s masterpiece No Man’s Land with Simon Russell Beale, and Rupert Everett making his Donmar debut. And we are also so pleased to be able to announce today the cast for Danny Lee Wynter’s Ilford Boy. We look forward to welcoming audiences this Autumn and Winter to experience these productions in our powerfully intimate space.”
Public booking for The King’s Ransom and No Man’s Land opens at 12pm Friday 31 July
Generously supported by Charles Holloway OBE, Season Supporter.
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The World premiere of
ILFORD BOY
Written by Danny Lee Wynter
Cast: Lindsey Coulson (Eileen), Cary Crankson (Trevor), Gershwyn Eustache Jnr (Ken), Aaron Gill (Raj), Charlotte Jaconelli (Ann), Sinead Matthews (Jackie), Craig Stein (Patrick), Leo Whitfield-Harris (Ted), Ria Zmitrowicz (Tillie)
Director: Tim Sheader;Set Designer: Peter McKintosh; Costume Designer: Ryan Dawson Laight; Lighting Designer: Aideen Malone; Sound Designer: Tony Gayle; Choreographer & Intimacy Director: Ebony Molina; Composer & Music Supervisor: Eamonn O’Dwyer; WHAM Designer: Carole Hancock; Voice Director: Barbara Houseman; Dialect Coach: Hazel Holder; Associate Director: Phillippe Cato; Resident Assistant Director: Jessy Roberts; Fight Director: Kate Waters; Casting Director: Lotte Hines CDG; Casting Associate: Lilly Mackie
10 October – 28 November 2026
The boy lives in Ilford, of course he’s depressed.
Mixed-race teenager Ted Martin is growing up in 90s East London in a house full of chaos, laughter and tough love.
One day Patrick arrives, shaking the foundations of Ted’s life with his sense of style, humour and love of show tunes. Another way to live explodes into view. One filled with art, possibility and people who see him clearly for the first time.
Directed by Donmar Artistic Director Tim Sheader, Danny Lee Wynter’s Ilford Boy is a funny, moving drama about the ghosts that follow us, the families we choose, and the Streisand that helps us survive.
Lindsey Coulson returns to the Donmar to play Eileen – she previously appeared in Small Change. Her other theatre work includes Three More Sleepless Nights (National Theatre), Snake (Hampstead Theatre), Blame (Arcola, York Theatre Royal), Hamlet (Shaw Theatre), Trafford Tanzi (Grand Theatre Swansea), Stags and Hens (Grand Theatre Swansea) and The Canterbury Tales (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch). Her television work includes Waterloo Road, The Diplomat, The Bay, Bulletproof, The Level, Murder Investigation Team, Doctor Who, The Street, Clocking Off, Manchild, Danielle Cable: Eye Witness, The Girls Who Came To Stay, Stretford Wives, She’s Gone, Every Time You Look At Me, New Tricks, Feather Boy, Material Girl, Inspector Lynley Mysteries, The Stepfather, Out Of Hours, Paradise Heights, The Last Detective and EastEnders – as series regular Carol Jackson, winner of British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Performance. For film, her work includes AKA, Funny Cow and Walk Like a Panther.
Cary Crankson plays Trevor. His theatre work includes The Talented Mr Ripley, Oliver!, La Ronde (UK tours), Death of England (National Theatre, Soho Place), Country Music – OFFIE award for Best Lead Actor (Omnibus Theatre), Time is Love (Finborough Theatre), All My Sons (Nottingham Playhouse), A View from the Bridge (Wyndham’s Theatre), Abigail’s Party (Curve Leicester), Dealer’s Choice (Royal & Derngate), The Saints (Nuffield Theatre Southampton), Thebes, The Robbers, Hamlet, Mary Stuart, Miss Julie, Twelfth Night (New Diorama), Wasted (Roundhouse and Paines Plough tour), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Faction Open Air), Othello (Faction Open Air), Chapel Street (Underbelly, Old Vic New Voices), Sea Wall (Salisbury Playhouse, Paines Plough tour), Mad Blud (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Othello (Rose Theatre Bankside), Children of Darkness (Leicester Square Theatre), Desire Under the Elms (New Vic Theatre), The Bitch from Brixton, Coriolanus (Jack Studio Theatre), The Rover (Southwark Playhouse), Exit Signs (Royal Court Theatre – Rough Cuts), Flight Path (Bush Theatre, Out of Joint tour) and Silverland (Arcola Theatre, 59E59 Theaters, New York). His television work includes The Peripheral, and Wild West; and for film, Scrapper, Silent Night, and Rock and Roll F*ck ‘n’ Lovely.
Gershwyn Eustache Jnr plays Ken. His theatre work includes Alterations, Small Island, Pinocchio, Home, Nut (National Theatre), Pass Over (Kiln Theatre), Anatomy of a Suicide, A Profoundly Affectionate Passionate Devotion to Someone (Royal Court Theatre), The Royale (Bush Theatre) and The Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare’s Globe). For television, his work includes Wahala, Capital, Silent Witness, Joan, Andor, Get Millie Back, A Spy Among Friends, Stephen, I am Maria, I May Destroy You, Small Axe, Britannia, Fortitude, Legends, Peter and Wendy and Run; and for film, In The Shadows, The Man in My Basement, The Yellow Birds, Second Coming and Starred Up.
Aaron Gill plays Raj. His theatre credits include Indian Ink (Hampstead Theatre), East is South (Hampstead Theatre) and The Empress (RSC). His television work includes The Other Bennet Sister, Piglets, Smothered.
Charlotte Jaconelli returns to the Donmar to play Ann – she previously appeared in Sweet Charity. Her theatre credits include Midnight (Sadler’s Wells East), Burlesque, Sunset Blvd (Savoy Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (RSC), Assassins (Chichester Festival Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (Sheffield Theatres), Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World (The Other Palace), The Wizard of Oz (Curve Leicester), Into the Woods (Theatre Royal Bath), The Boy in the Dress (RSC), Heathers the Musical (West End), and She Loves Me (Landor Theatre). Her television credits include Call the Midwife.
Sinead Matthews returns to the Donmar to play Jackie – she previously appeared in The Wild Duck.
Her other theatre credits include Till The Stars Come Down (National Theatre, Theatre Royal, Haymarket), Mad House (Ambassadors Theatre), The Antipodes, Absolute Hell, Hedda Gabler, Evening at the Talk House, Blurred Lines, Our Class, The Mandate, Women of Troy, The Antipodes (National Theatre), The Starry Messenger (Wyndham’s Theatre), Loot (Park Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Royal Albert Hall), Giving; Wasp; Ecstasy (Hampstead Theatre), The Hudsucker Proxy (Nuffield Theatre, Liverpool Everyman), Pests (Royal Exchange Theatre, Royal Court Theatre and UK tour), Trout Stanley (Southwark Playhouse), A Time to Reap (Royal Court Theatre), The Changeling, The Glass Menagerie (Young Vic), The Way of the World, The Crucible (Sheffield Theatres), The Master and Margarita (Barbican), Lulu (Gate Theatre), Eigengrau, His Ghostly Heart and Little Dolls (Bush Theatre), The Birthday Party (West End) and Spoonface Steinberg (GBS Theatre). Her television work includes The Party, The Dream Lands, Down Cemetery Road, Things You Should Have Done, Murder Is Easy, Hullraisers – as series regular Paula, The Power, Sick Of It, The Crown, Hang Ups, Chewing Gum, In The Dark, Toast of London, Inside No. 9, The Smoke, Way To Go, Black Mirror, In Love with Barbara, Ideal, Half Broken Things, Trial & Retribution, A.K.A. Divorce, Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather, He Knew He Was Right and Viva Las Blackpool; and for film, Brides, Happy New Year, Colin Burstead, Self-Help: A Serial Killer’s Guide To Life, This Family, Jellyfish, Kaleidoscope, Daphne, The Gift, Mr. Turner, Wreckers, Nanny McPhee 2, The Boat That Rocked, Spring of 1941, Happy Go Lucky, Pride and Prejudice and Vera Drake.
Craig Stein plays Patrick. His theatre work includes The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Fela!, Nation (National Theatre), Doctor Faustus, Rent (Duke of York’s Theatre), Fatherland (Frantic Assembly), Neighbors (Nuffield Theatre Southampton), 5,6,7,8, Wig Out (Royal Court Theatre), Ghost (Piccadilly Theatre), The Harder They Come (Nottingham Playhouse), and Wicked (Apollo Victoria). His television credits include Heajastallan, Industry, Death in Paradise, Homeland, Song for Jenny, Law and Order, Love Matters and Down to Earth; and for film, Wicked, The Little Mermaid, Tom and Jerry, Lake Placid: Legacy, Mary Poppins Returns and Soft Lad.
Leo Whitfield-Harris makes his professional stage debut as Ted.
Ria Zmitrowicz plays Tillie. Her theatre credits include The Welkin (National Theatre), The Doctor, Three Sisters, Dance Nation (Almeida Theatre), The Glow, Gundog, Bad Roads, X (Royal Court Theatre), The Waves (Jermyn Street Theatre), Plastic (Ustinov Studio, Bath Theatre Royal), The Crucible (Royal Exchange Theatre), Arcadia (English Touring Theatre), Four Minutes Twelve Seconds (Hampstead Theatre, Trafalgar Studios), Chapel Street (Bush Theatre, Edinburgh Underbelly and Liverpool Everyman), God’s Property (Soho Theatre) and Skanky (Arcola Theatre). Her television credits include Sherwood, The Power, Make That Movie, Through The Gates, Three Girls, Mr Selfridge, Outlaws, Youngers, Nightshift, The Midnight Beast, Murder on the Home Front, Whitechapel and The Third Day: Autumn; and for film, Misbehaviour, Teen Spirit, Entebbe, Jellyfish, and Kill Your Friends.
Danny Lee Wynter‘s debut play Black Superhero opened at the Royal Court Theatre in March 2023. As an actor, he has worked extensively in theatre, film and TV – he most notably received an Olivier Award Nomination for his role in The Normal Heart (National Theatre). He was the founder of Act For Change, the UK campaign group that helped change representation across the live and recorded arts.
Tim Sheader is Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive of the Donmar Warehouse where he has directed When We Are Married and Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 which was nominated for six Olivier Awards. He was previously Artistic Director of Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre where he directed over 20 productions, including the Olivier and Evening Standard Award-winning musicals Into the Woods (also Central Park’s Delacorte Theater), Hello, Dolly!, Crazy For You (also West End), and Jesus Christ Superstar which, following two sold-out seasons at Regent’s Park and a transfer to the Barbican, toured the US for three years, followed by a world tour, and is currently running at The London Palladium ahead of a run at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and a UK tour. His critically acclaimed production of To Kill a Mockingbird also toured the UK ending with a sell-out run at the Barbican. Committed to taking the company’s work to as wide an audience as possible, he oversaw further UK tours of productions including Pride and Prejudice, Lord of the Flies and Running Wild. His other stage work includes The Monstrous Child (Royal Opera House), My Fair Lady (Aarhus Theatre), Barnum (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Magistrate (National Theatre), Don Pasquale (Opera National de Lorraine, Lausanne and upcoming in Nice and Toulon).
The World premiere of
THE KING’S RANSOM
By Stuart Slade
5 December 2026 – 6 February 2027
Director: Matthew Dunster; Set Designer: Anna Fleischle; Costume Designer: Jean Chan; Lighting Designer: Sally Ferguson; Sound Designer: Holly Khan; Casting Director: Lotte Hines CDG
Stealin’ dead folk’s the American Dream?
Well, it’s always been an incredibly elastic concept – so yes.
The plan is simple:
Kidnap Elvis Presley’s corpse.
Stash him in a chest freezer.
Collect the million-dollar ransom.
Memphis, 1977. When an enigmatic criminal mastermind offers small-time crook Vince Black the opportunity of a lifetime, Vince assembles a crack team of misfits and dropouts to attempt the heist of the century: swiping the earthly remains of The King of Rock and Roll.
Inspired by one of the strangest crime stories in American history, The King’s Ransom, a new play by Stuart Slade, is a Southern-fried dark comedy about grief, redemption and spectacularly bad decisions. Matthew Dunster directs this outrageous, heartfelt heist caper about the little guys taking one last shot at the American Dream.
Stuart Slade’s plays include Glee & Me – Winner of the Judges’ Award – The Bruntwood Prize (Royal Exchange Theatre), Reality (Royal Court Theatre and RWCMD), BU21 (Trafalgar Studios, and across over twenty countries worldwide), and Cans (Theatre503); and for film, Pulse and Capable People.
Matthew Dunster returns to the Donmar to direct – he previously directed Dealer’s Choice for the company. He is a theatre and film director and writer. Previously an actor, he has directed or written over sixty theatre shows, often with major national companies (including RSC, National Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, Young Vic, Royal Exchange, Shakespeare’s Globe, The Bridge), as well as directing on the West End, Broadway and internationally. He has been the Associate Director of The Young Vic and Shakespeare’s Globe. His most recent productions include The Hunger Games, Hedda, 2:22 A Ghost Story, which ran in the West End for 694 performances; Shirley Valentine and The Pillowman, both at Duke Of York’s Theatre; The Homecoming at the Young Vic. Dunster has been nominated for four Olivier Awards and his Broadway production of Hangmen was nominated for five Tony Awards. Other directing credits includes: True West (Vaudeville Theatre), Oedipus (Bunkamura Theatre, Tokyo), Hangmen, Liberian Girl (Royal Court Theatre), The Seagull, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Love’s Sacrifice (RSC), The Lightning Child, Doctor Faustus (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Love Girl & the Innocent, You Can Still Make a Killing (Southwark Playhouse), Mametz (National Theatre Wales), Before the Party (Almeida), A Sacred Flame (English Touring Theatre), Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (Royal Exchange Theatre), Mogadishu (Royal Exchange Manchester and Lyric Hammersmith), The Most Incredible Thing (Sadler’s Wells), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Royal & Derngate, Northampton).
Harold Pinter’s
NO MAN’S LAND
13 February – 10 April 2027
Cast: Simon Russell Beale, Rupert Everett, Olivier Huband, Jay Simpson
Director: Patrick Marber; Designer: Rae Smith; Lighting Designer: Zoe Spurr;
Casting Director: Lotte Hines CDG
No man’s land, which never moves, which never changes, which never grows older, which remains forever icy and silent.
Hirst, an acclaimed writer, brings a down-at-heel poet, Spooner, back to his Hampstead home for a nightcap.
As the night draws in, the alcohol flows and they contest memories false and true. Fact and fantasy blur until the arrival of two younger men transforms the evening entirely.
Directed by Patrick Marber, Harold Pinter’s funny and haunting masterpiece stars Simon Russell Beale, Rupert Everett, Olivier Huband and Jay Simpson.
Simon Russell Beale returns to the Donmar to play Hirst – he previously appeared in Temple, The Philanthropist, Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night. His theatre credits include Venus and Adonis (UK tour), Titus Andronicus, The Tempest, King Lear, Ghosts, Richard III, The Seagull, Edward II, Troilus and Cressida, The Man of Mode, Restoration (RSC), A Christmas Carol, John Gabriel Borkman (Bridge Theatre), The Lehman Trilogy (Piccadilly Theatre and The Armory, New York), The Lehman Trilogy, King Lear, Timon of Athens, Collaborators, London Assurance, A Slight Ache, Major Barbara, Much Ado About Nothing, The Alchemist, Life of Galileo, Jumpers, Humble Boy, Hamlet, Battle Royal, Candide, Summerfolk, Money, Othello, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, Volpone (National Theatre), Mr Foote’s Other Leg (Hampstead Theatre and Theatre Royal Haymarket), The Hothouse (Trafalgar Studios), Privates On Parade (Noël Coward Theatre), Bluebird (Atlantic Theatre, New York), The Cherry Orchard, The Winter’s Tale (BAM, world tour, The Old Vic), Monty Python’s Spamalot (Palace Theatre and Schubert Theatre, New York), Julius Caesar (Barbican and international tour); Richard II, Macbeth (Almeida Theatre), Jumpers (Piccadilly Theatre, Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York), Jumpers (Piccadilly Theatre), Humble Boy (Gielgud Theatre), Invention of Love (Hampstead Theatre), and the forthcoming Jesus Christ Superstar (Theatre Royal Drury Lane). His television work includes House of the Dragon, Douglas is Cancelled, Mary & George, Vanity Fair, Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe, Penny Dreadful, Under The Covers, Monteverdi, Legacy, Park, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, God’s Country, Symphony, Spooks, Sacred Christmas Music: American Experience, Dunkirk, Great Historians, Gibbon and A Dance to the Music of Time; and for film, Firebrand, Radioactive, The Outfit, Benediction, Mary Queen of Scots, Operation Finale, The Death of Stalin – winner of 2017 British Independent Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor, Museo, My Cousin Rachel, Tarzan, Savannah, Into the Woods, The Deep Blue Sea, My Week with Marilyn and Hamlet.
Rupert Everett plays Spooner. His theatre credits include A Voyage Round My Father (Theatre Royal Bath), The Judas Kiss (Hampstead Theatre, Royal Alexandra Theatre Toronto and BAM), Amadeus (Chichester Festival Theatre), Pygmalion (Garrick Theatre), Blithe Spirit (Broadway), Don Juan, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Heartbreak House (Glasgow Citizens’ Theatre), Some Sunny Day (Hampstead Theatre), The Importance of Being Earnest (Theatre National Paris), The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore, Mass Appeal (Lyric Hammersmith), The Vortex (Glasgow Citizens’ Theatre and Garrick Theatre), and Another Country (Queen’s Theatre). His television work includes Rivals, Emily in Paris, The Serpent Queen, Gray, Everybody Loves Diamonds, Funny Woman, Adult Material, Quacks, The Musketeers, Parade’s End, Rosamund Pilcher, The Other Wife, Black Mirror, And Quiet Flows the Don, Boston Legal, Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking, Dangerous Liaisons, Mr Ambassador, Mama’s Back, The Far Pavilions, Arthur the King, Princess Daisy, The Agatha Christie Hour, Play for Today and Strangers; and for film, The Resurrection of the Christ, Judas’ Gospel, Mad Fabulous, Legend Has It, Napoleon, My Policeman, She Will, Warning, The Warrior Queen of Jhansi, The Happy Prince, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Altimara, A Royal Night Out, Rosenn, Justin and the Knights of Valour, Hysteria, Wild Target, St Trinians 2: the Legend of Fritton’s Gold, St Trinians, Stardust, Shrek the Third, The Chronicles of Narnia – The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Separate Lies, A Different Loyalty, People, Stage Beauty, Shrek 2, To Kill a King, Unconditional Love, The Wild Thornberrys Movie, The Importance of Being Earnest, South Kensington, The Next Best Thing, Inspector Gadget, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, An Ideal Husband, Shakespeare in Love, B. Monkey, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Dunston Checks In, Cemetery Man, The Madness of King George, Prêt-à-Porter, Inside Monkey Zetterland, The Comfort of Strangers, Heart of Fire, The Right Hand Man, The Gold Rimmed Glasses, Duet for One, Dance with a Stranger, Real Life and Another Country.
Olivier Huband returns to the Donmar toplay Foster – he previously appeared in Henry V. His theatre work includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), A Doll’s House, Romans (Almeida Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing (RSC), Our Country’s Good (Lyric Hammersmith), Humour in the Water Coolant (The ICA), The Duchess of Malfi, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare’s Globe), Barefoot in the Park (Pitlochry Festival Theatre), Such Filthy F*cks (The Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh) and An Enemy of the People (The Playground Theatre). His television work includes Moonflower Murders, This England, A Discovery of Witches, Becoming Elizabeth, I Hate Suzie and Informer; and for film, The Way of the Runner and Mission Impossible: Fallout.
Jay Simpson plays Briggs. His theatre work includes Othello, Scenes from an Execution, Mother Clap’s Molly House, Battle Royal (National Theatre), Arden of Faversham, White Devil, The Witch of Edmonton (Royal Shakespeare Company), The Firm, The Good Samaritan (Hampstead Theatre), Dealer’s Choice (Menier Chocolate Factory and Trafalgar Studios) Afters, Hummingbird, Centre Stole my Giro (Old Red Lion). His television work includes Day of the Jackal, The Hack, Suspect: The shooting of John Charles de Menezes, Chernobyl, Pistol and The Firm. His film work includes Blitz, The Critic, Rush, Shifty and The Holiday
Harold Pinter was born on 10 October 1930 in East London, playwright, director, actor, poet and political activist. He died 24 December 2008. He wrote twenty-nine plays including The Birthday Party, The Caretaker, The Homecoming, and Betrayal, twenty-one screenplays including The Servant, The Go-Between and The French Lieutenant’s Woman, and directed twenty-seven theatre productions, including James Joyce’s Exiles, David Mamet’s Oleanna, seven plays by Simon Gray and many of his own plays including his latest, Celebration, paired with his first, The Room at the Almeida Theatre, London in the spring of 2000. He was awarded the Shakespeare Prize (Hamburg), the European Prize for Literature (Vienna), the Pirandello Prize (Palermo), the David Cohen British Literature Prize, the Laurence Olivier Award, the Legion d’Honneur and the Moliere D’Honneur for lifetime achievement. In 1999 he was made a Companion of Literature by the Royal Society of Literature. He received honorary degrees from eighteen universities. In 2002, Pinter was made a Companion of Honour by the Queen for services to Literature; and in 2005, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
As a director, Patrick Marber’s work includes The Producers (Menier Chocolate Factory/Garrick Theatre), Glengarry Glen Ross (productions at both The Old Vic and Palace Theatre, New York), Habeas Corpus (Menier Chocolate Factory), Leopoldstadt (Wyndham’s Theatre and Broadway – Tony Award for Best Director of a Play and Outer Critics’ Circle Award for Outstanding Director of a Play), Travesties (Menier Chocolate Factory/Apollo Theatre/Roundabout Theatre Company’s American Airlines Theatre, NYC), Steve Coogan/John Thompson in Characters (Edinburgh/Purcell Room/Touring), and his own plays Dealer’s Choice (National Theatre/Vaudeville Theatre), Closer (National Theatre/Lyric Theatre/Broadway), Howard Katz and Three Days In the Country (both National Theatre). Other productions include 1953 (Almeida Theatre), Blue Remembered Hills (National Theatre), The Old Neighborhood (Royal Court at Duke of York’s Theatre), The Caretaker (Comedy Theatre) and I Remember (devised piece at Royal Court). For television, he directed After Miss Julie and The Curator (both for the BBC). As a writer, his other work includes The Musicians (NT Connections), After Miss Julie, Don Juan in Soho, Dealer’s Choice (Donmar Warehouse/Wyndham’s) and The Red Lion (National Theatre). For television, his work includes: co-writer of The Day Today, Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge, Paul Calf Video Diaries, The Curator, Natural Born Quizzers (all BBC); for film, The Critic (dir. Anand Tucker), Closer (dir. Mike Nichols), Notes on a Scandal (dir. Richard Eyre) and Love You More (dir. Sam Taylor-Wood); and for radio, Hoop Lane (BBC Radio 3) and Bunk Bed with Peter Curran (BBC Radio 4).
AZUKA OFORKA AND RAFAELLA MARCUS NAMED RECIPIENTS OF THE 2026 THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET WRITERS AWARD
The Donmar Warehouse also announces today that playwrights Azuka Oforka and Rafaella Marcus have been selected as the recipients of the 2026 Theatre Royal Haymarket Writers Award, presented in partnership with Access Entertainment, owner of the Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Established to support the development of outstanding playwrights and help bring new voices to the UK’s major stages, the Award commissions two writers each year to develop a new play. Recipients receive a full commission alongside access to the Donmar’s artistic team, who support the research and development of their work through readings, workshops and collaboration with professional actors.
Azuka Oforka is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter whose debut play, The Women of Llanrumney, premiered at Sherman Theatre in Cardiff before transferring to London to widespread critical acclaim. A former actor, she has developed work with organisations including the Royal Court Theatre, BBC Writersroom and Sherman Theatre, and was named Best Writer at The Stage Debut Awards in 2024. Through the Theatre Royal Haymarket Writers Award, she will write an original play exploring the history and legacy of the Labour Party Black Sections.
Rafaella Marcus is a playwright, dramaturg and director from South London. Her debut play, SAP, premiered with Paines Plough at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before touring nationally and enjoying an acclaimed run at Soho Theatre. Through the Theatre Royal Haymarket Writers Award, she will develop a stage adaptation of Natalie Haynes’ acclaimed retelling of the Trojan War, A Thousand Ships.
The Theatre Royal Haymarket Writers Award reflects a shared commitment by the Donmar Warehouse and Access Entertainment to investing in exceptional writing talent and supporting the creation of ambitious new work for the stage.
DONMAR WAREHOUSE
LISTINGS
41 Earlham Street, Seven Dials, London WC2H 9LX
Box Office: www.donmarwarehouse.com / 020 3282 3808
Instagram and Facebook: @donmarwarehouse
Bluesky: @donmarwarehouse.bsky.social
PERFORMANCE TIMES
Evenings Mon – Sat 7.30pm
Thursday & Saturday matinees 2.30pm
TICKET PRICES
A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY / ILFORD BOY
£70 (£65) / £55 (£50) / £30 (£25)
Preview discounts apply to the first four performances only
Standing £15 tickets will be released at a later date
THE GUILTY
£72 / £57 / £32
THE KING’S RANSOM / NO MAN’S LAND
£76 (£71), £59 (£54), £30 (£25)
ON SALE DATES
Wednesday 22 July 12pm – Patrons
Monday 27 July 12pm – Best Friends
Tuesday 28 July 12pm – Friends
Wednesday 29 July 12pm – Access & 35 and Under bookers
Friday 31 July 12pm – Public booking
SEASON AT A GLANCE
THE GUILTY
Until 15 August
Captioned: Monday 3 August at 7:30pm
Audio described: Saturday 8 August at 2:30pm
A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY
22 August – 3 October
Captioned: Monday 21 September at 7:30pm
Audio described: Saturday 26 September at 2:30pm
ILFORD BOY
10 October – 28 November
Captioned: Monday 16 November at 7:30pm
Audio described: Saturday 21 November at 2:30pm
THE KING’S RANSOM
5 December 2026 – 6 February 2027
Captioned: Monday 25 January 7:30pm
Audio described: Saturday 30 January 2:30pm
NO MAN’S LAND
13 February – 10 April 2027
Captioned: Monday 22 March 7:30pm
Audio described: Saturday 3 April 2:30pm
35 AND UNDER TICKETS AT £20
Supported by Barclays
Aged 16-35? Sign up to our exclusive email list to book tickets for £20, located throughout the theatre including the front row. Book early to secure these prices. www.donmarwarehouse.com/your-visit/tickets/35-and-under-20-tickets/
Maximum two tickets per person – both need to be aged 35 or under at time of the performance. Subject to availability. ID will need to be shown at Box Office to collect tickets.
DONMAR DAILY RELEASE
New tickets on sale every day at the Donmar. Allocations of tickets will be made available every day for performances 7 days later. Tickets will be available across the auditorium at every price band.
ACCESS
The Donmar Warehouse is fully wheelchair accessible. Guide dogs and hearing dogs are welcome in the auditorium. There is a Loop system and a Radio Frequency system fitted in the main auditorium and there are also hearing loops at all the front of house counters.
ASSISTED PERFORMANCES
If you require a companion to attend the Donmar, their ticket will be free. To book call 020 3282 3808 or email access@donmarwarehouse.com.
For all other access enquiries or bookings call 020 3282 3808.
DONMAR WAREHOUSE
Welcome to the Donmar, where anyone with a passion or curiosity for seriously good theatre belongs. In our powerfully intimate space, we make vivid theatre that transports. Our audience doesn’t sit in the dark; they lean into the light. You’ll want to be in the room and in the moment.
Led by Artistic Director Tim Sheader and Executive Director Henny Finch, the Donmar is an independent non-profit theatre in London’s Covent Garden.
We’re intent on making sure theatre thrives for the next generation by inviting in new younger audiences, inspiring original voices and building the workforce of the future.
We’re grateful for the loyalty and generosity of our many donors and supporters who share our commitment to making this happen.