IVO VAN HOVE’S ENGLISH LANGUAGE WORLD STAGE PREMIÈRE OF
HANYA YANAGIHARA’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED SMASH-HIT NOVEL
A LITTLE LIFE
EXTENDS AT THE SAVOY THEATRE DUE TO UNPRECEDENTED DEMAND
PUBLIC BOOKING FOR THE RUN AT THE SAVOY THEATRE OPENS AT 10AM TODAY
Due to record-breaking demand at Richmond Theatre and the Harold Pinter Theatre, Wessex Grove, Gavin Kalin Productions and Playful Productions today announce that Ivo van Hove’s English language première of Hanya Yanagihara’s critically acclaimed prize-winning novel, A Little Life, will now play a further five weeks only at the Savoy Theatre from 4 July.
Van Hove directs James Norton (Jude), Luke Thompson (Willem), Omari Douglas (JB), Zach Wyatt (Malcolm), Elliot Cowan (Brother Luke/Doctor Traylor/Caleb), Zubin Varla (Harold), Nathalie Armin (Ana), and Emilio Doorgasingh (Andy). The production previews at Richmond Theatre from 14 to 18 March; ahead of opening in the West End at the Harold Pinter Theatre on 5 April, with previews from 25 March, and runs until 18 June; before transferring to the Savoy Theatre from 4 July to 5 August.
Public booking opens for the run at the Savoy Theatre at 10am today.
Wessex Grove’s Benjamin Lowy and Emily Vaughan-Barratt said today, “We could not be more delighted to have the opportunity to extend A Little Life in the West End this summer. Hanya’s book has had a profound impact on so many people’s lives, and it’s a privilege to witness the way in which the production is being embraced by audiences. We’ve just finished rehearsals, and it’s been extraordinary to watch Ivo and this incredible group of actors discover this story anew on stage. It’s a beautiful piece of theatre, and we’re delighted our company want to continue performing the play together at the iconic theatre that is the Savoy – a real honour for a straight play to perform on that stage.”
Twitter and Instagram: @alittlelifeplay
Producers – Wessex Grove, Gavin Kalin Productions, Playful Productions,
Co-Producers – Creative Partners Productions, Patrick Gracey Productions, ROYO,
Rupert Gavin & Mallory Factor Partnership, and New Frame Productions / David Adkin Productions present
A LITTLE LIFE
Based on the novel by Hanya Yanagihara
Adapted by Koen Tachelet, Ivo van Hove and Hanya Yanagihara
Cast: James Norton, Luke Thompson, Omari Douglas, Zach Wyatt, Elliot Cowan, Zubin Varla, Nathalie Armin, Emilio Doorgasingh
Conceived and Directed by: Ivo van Hove; Set, Lighting & Video Design: Jan Versweyveld;
Costume Design: An D’Huys; Music & Sound Designer: Eric Sleichim;
Casting Director: Julia Horan CDG; Hair, Make Up & Prosthetics Designer: Susanna Peretz
Richmond Theatre – 14 – 18 March
Harold Pinter Theatre – 25 March – 18 June
Savoy Theatre – 4 July – 5 August
James Norton (Happy Valley, Grantchester) stars as Jude as the visionary director Ivo van Hove (Network, Hedda Gabler) stages the English language premiere of A LITTLE LIFE, his acclaimed production of the million-copy bestseller by Hanya Yanagihara (To Paradise, Booker Prize Shortlist for A Little Life).
The much-anticipated play also stars Luke Thompson (Bridgerton, Hamlet), Omari Douglas (It’s A Sin, Constellations), Zach Wyatt (The Witcher, I and You), Elliot Cowan (The Crown, 2:22 A Ghost Story), Zubin Varla (Tammy Faye, Equus), Nathalie Armin (Force Majeure, The Doctor), and Emilio Doorgasingh (Best of Enemies, The Kite Runner).
A LITTLE LIFE follows four college friends in New York City: aspiring actor Willem, successful architect Malcolm, struggling artist JB, and prodigious lawyer Jude.
As ambition, addiction, and pride threaten to pull the group apart, they always find themselves bound by their love for Jude and the mysteries of his past.
But when those secrets come to light, they finally learn that to know Jude St Francis is to understand the limitless potential of love in the face of life.
James Norton plays Jude.His theatre work includesBelleville (Donmar Warehouse), Bug (Found111), Journey’s End (West End and UK tour), The Lion in Winter (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Posh (Royal Court Theatre), That Face (Sheffield Theatres) and Cymbeline (Cambridge Arts Theatre). For television his work includes Happy Valley (as series regular Tommy Lee Royce), Grantchester (series lead, Sidney Chambers), The Nevers, The Trial of Christine Keeler, McMafia, War and Peace, Black Mirror, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Life in Squares, Death Comes to Pemberley, Doctor Who, Restless and Blandings; and for film, Freeguard, Nowhere Special, Things Heard and Seen, Little Women, Mr Jones, Hampstead, Flatliners, Bonobo, Belle, Thicker Than Water, Cheerful Weather for a Wedding and An Education.
Luke Thompson plays Willem. His theatre work includes King Lear (Duke of York’s Theatre), Hamlet (Almeida Theatre and Harold Pinter Theatre), The Oresteia (Almeida Theatre and Trafalgar Studios), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe – nomination for the Evening Standard Most Promising Newcomer). For television, his work includes Bridgerton (as series regular Benedict Bridgerton), Kiss Me First, In the Club, and The Suspicions of Mr Whicher; and for film, Misbehaviour, Making Noise Quietly and Dunkirk.
Omari Douglas plays JB. His theatre work includes Cabaret (KiKat Club at the Playhouse Theatre), Constellations (Vaudeville Theatre/Donmar Warehouse – Oliver Award nomination for Best Actor), Romantics Anonymous (Bristol Old Vic/Wise Children), Wise Children (The Old Vic/Wise Children), Rush (King’s Head Theatre), Peter Pan (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Five Guys Named Moe (Marble Arch Theatre), Tristan and Yseult (Kneehigh/Shakespeare’s Globe), The Life (Southwark Playhouse), Annie Get Your Gun (Sheffield Crucible), Jesus Christ Superstar (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) and High Society (The Old Vic). His television work includes Nolly, I Hate Suzie Too, and It’s a Sin (BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor); and for film, Rye Lane, Midas Man and And Mrs.
Zach Wyatt plays Malcolm. His theatre credits include Bartholomew Fair, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare’s Globe), Wild East (Young Vic), and I and You (Hampstead Theatre). For television, his work includes The Witcher: Blood Origin, Karen Pirie, and Urban Myths: Hendrix and Handel; and for film, Timestalker and Blithe Spirit.
Elliot Cowan plays Brother Luke/Doctor Traylor/Caleb.For theatre, his credits include 2:22 A Ghost Story (Gieldgud Theatre), A Doll’s House (Lyric Hammersmith), Shipwreck (Almeida Theatre), Julius Caesar (Sheffield Theatre), An Ideal Husband (Vaudeville Theatre), Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe), A Streetcar Named Desire (Donmar Warehouse) and The Revenger’s Tragedy (National Theatre). For television his work includes The Crown, Foundation, Death in Paradise, Peaky Blinders, The Spanish Princess, Innocent, Krypton, Beowulf, Frankenstein Chronicles, Cilla, Life in Squares, Luther, Sinbad, Marchlands, The Fixer, Blood and Oil, Marple – They Do It With Mirrors and Ruby in the Smoke;and for film, All the Devil’s Men, Muse, Butterfly Kisses, Angels of Decay, Narcopolis, Angel of Decay, Howl, Hammer of the Gods, Happy Go Lucky, Alexander.
Zubin Varla plays Harold. His theatre credits include Tammy Faye (Almeida Theatre), The Two Character Play (Hampstead Theatre), The Twits (Unicorn Theatre), Ghost Quartet (Boulevard Theatre), Equus (ETT/ Trafalgar Studios), Fun Home, Measure For Measure, The Changeling (Young Vic), Poison (Orange Tree Theatre), The Unknown Island (Gate Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe), The El Train (Hoxton Hall), Troilus and Cressida, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Midnight’s Children, The Tempest, Roberto Zucco, Bartholomew Fair, Faust, The Painter of Dishonour, Romeo and Juliet (RSC), Don Juan Comes Back from the War (NT Studio/ Finborough Theatre), Into Thy Hands (Jericho House/ Wilton’s Music Hall), War Horse (National Theatre/ New London Theatre), Twelfth Night (Donmar Warehouse/ West End), Paradise Regained (Royal Court Theatre), Dara, The Enchantment, Attempts on Her Life, The Life of Galileo, Cyrano de Bergerac (National Theatre), Julius Caesar (RSC/ Lyric Hammersmith), Amadeus (Barbican), Hello & Goodbye (Southwark Playhouse), Teeth ‘n’ Smiles (Sheffield Theatres), Chess (Danish tour), In the Solitude of Cotton Fields (ATC / Aldwych Tube Station), A Day Like Today (Young Vic/ Push Festival), Antigone (The Old Vic/ Donmar Warehouse), Jesus Christ Superstar; Beautiful Thing (West End), In the Heart of America (Bush Theatre), and Romeo and Juliet and Lady Be Good (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre). His television work includes Andor, Deep State, Will, Our Girl, Strike Back, Holby City, Garrow’s Law, Hustle, Little Dorrit, Silent Witness, Spooks, Crocodile Shoes, and Luv; and for film, Mad, Sad & Bad; Saddam’s Tribe, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Nathalie Armin plays Ana.Her theatre credits include Force Majeure, Limehouse (Donmar Warehouse), Ralegh: The Treason Trial (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Doctor, Machinal (Almeida Theatre), Anna, Another World: Losing Our Children to Islamic State, The Motherf**ker with the Hat, Dara, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Anna (National Theatre), The Complaint (Hampstead Theatre), On the Record (Arcola Theatre), The Tempest (Barbican) and Arabian Nights and Othello (RSC). Her television credits include Treason, Flatshare, Juice, Magpie Murders, Too Close, Home, Marcella, Unforgotten, Humans, Derailed, William and Mary and The Jury; and for film, The Batman, Final Score, Denial and Grow Your Own.
Emilio Doorgasingh plays Andy.His theatre work includes Persuasion (Rose Theatre Kingston, Alexandra Palace, Oxford Playhouse), Best of Enemies (Headlong/Young Vic), Shadowlands, Present Laughter (Chichester Festival Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Kite Runner (Wyndham’s Theatre, Playhouse Theatre and UK tour), The American Wife (Park Theatre), and Boy (Almeida Theatre). For television, his work includes You and Me, The Good Karma Hospital, Sister Boniface Mysteries, Ted Lasso, Suspicion, The Tuckers, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Unforgotten, and Game of Thrones; and for film, And Mrs, Rupture, Princess Switch 3, Soof 3, Dangerous Game, Red 2, Awakened, Pimp, Extraordinary Rendition, and Kingdom of Heaven.
Hanya Yanagihara is the editor in chief of the multiple National Magazine Award-winning T, The New York Times’ style and design magazine. Previously, she served in various editorial roles at Condé Nast Traveler, W, Departures, Radar, Town & Country, and Brill’s Content. She began her career in book publishing at Random House. Along with her magazine work, Yanagihara is the author of three novels: A Little Life (Doubleday, March 2015 – to be published on 5 January by Picador), The People in the Trees (Doubleday, August 2013), and To Paradise (Doubleday, January 2022). The People in the Trees was shortlisted for the PEN/Robert Bingham Award and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize (UK). A Little Life, a New York Times bestseller, has been published in more than 30 countries, and was a finalist for both the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Award, as well as the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Andrew Carnegie Medal, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the Dublin International Literary Award, and the American Booksellers’ Association Indie Award. It was the winner of the Kirkus Award and the British Booksellers’ Association award, and was a bestseller in the U.K., Australia, Poland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands. She is a recipient of the Benjamin Danks Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and an honorary doctorate from Smith College and serves on the board of PEN America.
Ivo van Hove has been Artist Director of Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (formerly Toneelgroup) since 2001. From 1998 to 2004, he was Artistic Director of the Holland Festival, presenting a varied selection of international theatre, music, opera and dance. His theatre credits include the theatrical adaptation of The Glass Menagerie (Théâtre de l’Odéon, Internationaal Theater Amsterdam), West Side Story (Broadway Theatre), All About Eve (Noël Coward Theatre), Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life (Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, Edinburgh International Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music), The Human Voice (Harold Pinter Theatre), Network (National Theatre and Cort Theatre, Broadway), Hedda Gabler (National Theatre), A View from the Bridge (Young Vic/Wyndham’s Theatre/Lyceum Theatre, Broadway), The Crucible (Walter Kerr Theatre), Lazarus (King’s Cross Theatre/New York Theatre Workshop); and Visconti’s The Damned (La Comédie-Française, Paris/ The Park Avenue Armory). He is the recipient of two Olivier Awards and two Tony Awards for A View From the Bridge; two Obie Awards for More Stately Mansions and Hedda Gabler. In addition, he is also Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France; and King Filip of Belgium awarded him Commander of the Order of the Crown. Additional directing credits include Angels in America, Roman Tragedies, Kings of War, Opening Night, Taming of the Shrew, Scenes from a Marriage, Othello, The Miser, Mourning Becomes Electra, Long Day’s Journey into Night and The Fountainhead (all Internationaal Theater Amsterdam).
A LITTLE LIFE PARTNERS WITH APPLAUSE FOR THOUGHT
A Little Life is partnering with Applause for Thought, a multi-award-winning community interest company that aims to create safe, empowering and empathetic spaces for all within the arts. Victoria Abbott will be supporting the company as the Production Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP). This role encompasses weekly in person 1-1 and group support within the development, rehearsal room, performance and post-production phases of a show.
Abbott’s role will assist in the appropriate implementation of mental health at work policies and risk assessments, develops resources for members of the audience and front of house teams as well as being an active support for the mental health and wellbeing at work of those both on and off stage. She will work pragmatically and sensitively amidst all the varying themes of the production to aid the creative process and reinforce the resilience of each department and team.
Victoria Abbott is a BACP registered integrative psychotherapist and she began supporting the mental health of those working in creative industries in 2014 when a theatre company asked her for guidance on designing and implementing a mental health at work policy. She has an undergraduate degree in Psychology, a masters in the Psychodynamics of Human Development and a PGDip in Integrative Psychotherapy as well as experience and training as a performer. She has her own thriving private practice where she specialises in burnout, life transition, bereavement and anxiety and is the Support Lead at Applause For Thought.
For further information on Applause for Thought: https://applauseforthought.com/
Listings Information
A LITTLE LIFE
Richmond Theatre – 1 Little Green, Richmond TW9 1QH
Harold Pinter Theatre -Panton St, London SW1Y 4DN
Savoy Theatre – Savoy Ct, Strand, London WC2R 0ET
Box Office: www.atgtickets.com
TICKETS
From £15.00
RICHMOND THEATRE:
Performances at 7pm
HAROLD PINTER THEATRE:
Previews:
Monday to Saturday at 7pm
Post press night:
Tuesday – Saturday at 7pm
Thursday matinees at 1.30pm (except 20 April, 18 May)
Saturday matinees at 1.30pm (except 6 May)
Sunday matinees at 2pm
Access performances:
British Sign Language – 23 May at 7pm
Audio Described – 31 May at 7pm
Captioned – 7 June at 7pm
SAVOY THEATRE:
Tuesday to Saturday at 7pm
Saturday matinees at 1.30pm
Sunday matinee on 9 July at 2pm
Thursday matinee on 13 July at 1.30pm
NB No performance on 7 July