KILN THEATRE ANNOUNCES FULL CAST FOR THE RETURN OF
ZADIE SMITH’S AWARD-WINNING PLAY
THE WIFE OF WILLESDEN
Kiln Theatre today announces the full cast for the return of Zadie Smith’s The Wife of Willesden, directed by Artistic Director Indhu Rubasingham. Clare Perkins reprises her role as Alvita, The Wife of Willesden, alongside Marcus Adolphy as Winston/Mandela/Black Jesus, George Eggay as Pastor/Eldridge, Andrew Frame as Ian/Socrates/Bartosz, Troy Glasgow as Darren/Young Maroon, Claudia Grant as Polly/Sophie, Nikita Johal as Asma/Kelly, Scott Miller as Ryan/Colin, Jessica Murrain as Author/Zaire/Queen Nanny and Ellen Thomas as Aunty P/Old Wife. The production runs at Kiln Theatre from 14 December to 28 January, ahead of its US transfer in February where it will play at the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from 25 February – 18 March 2023.
Kiln Theatre presents
THE WIFE OF WILLESDEN
Adapted by Zadie Smith
From Chaucer’s THE WIFE OF BATH
Kiln Theatre: 14 December 2022 – 28 January 2023, Opening Night 20 December
Directed by Indhu Rubasingham; Designed by Robert Jones; Lighting Design by Guy Hoare;Composition and Sound Design by Ben and Max Ringham;Associate Director Hannah Hauer-King; Associate Costume Designby Kinnetia Isidore; Casting by Julia Horan CDG; Movement Direction by Imogen Knight; Fight Direction by Kev McCurdy; Voice &DialectCoach Hazel Holder
‘Zadie Smith and Indhu Rubasingham have concocted a stunning piece of freewheeling stagecraft.’
★★★★★ Times
After a sold-out, critically acclaimed run in 2021, Alvita, The Wife of Willesden returns for one more round at the bar.
A proper local legend. Married five times. Mother. Lover. Aunt. Friend. Alvita will tell her life story to anyone in the pub – there’s no shame in her game. The question is: are you ready to hear it?
Because this woman’s got the gift of the gab: she can rewrite mistakes into triumphs, turn pain into parables, and her love life’s an epic poem. They call her The Wife of Willesden…
A play that celebrates the human knack for telling elaborate tales, especially about our own lives.
Critically acclaimed, multi-award winning, best-selling author Zadie Smith‘s ‘irresistably rambunctious’ (The Telegraph) The Wife of Willesden transports Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath to 21st Century North West London.
Director Indhu Rubasingham invites you to take your seat at the bar, order a pint or two, and listen to this bawdy, beautiful comedy up close, and very, very personal.
The Kiln Theatre auditorium will be transformed into a local London pub, complete with pub tables in the stalls.
The Wife of Willesden was originally produced in 2021 by Kiln Theatre in association with Brent20020, London Borough of Culture.
Marcus Adolphy returns to the roles of Winston/Mandela/Black Jesus. His theatre credits include Signal Fires (Eastern Angles/Hightide), One Man Two Guvnors (Wolsey Theatre), War Horse, The Comedy of Errors, The Suicide (National Theatre), The Convert (Gate Theatre), Backseat Drivers (The London Theatre), Keeler (Charing Cross Theatre), Macbeth (The Last Refuge Theatre), The Chicago Cowboy (Rosemary Branch Theatre), Twelfth Night (Nursery Theatre), Keeping Mum, 1867, A Christmas Carol (Brockley Jack Theatre) and The Children of Salt (Alma Theatre Bristol). His television credits include The Sandman, Scott and Bailey and Father Figure.
George Eggay returns to the roles of Pastor/Eldridge, and also appeared in Starstuck at the Kiln. His other theatre credits include Archbishop, The Last King of Scotland (Crucible, Sheffield), A Streetcar Named Desire, Frozen, The Power Book and The Wind In The Willows (National Theatre), The Firm (Hampstead Theatre), Ear for Eye (Royal Court Theatre), King Lear (The Old Vic), The Tiger’s Bones (New Perspectives), Arabian Nights (New Vic Theatre), Dishoodbe on TV (Hackney Empire), Passage to Freedom, This Accursed Thing (Andrew Ashmore Associates), The Ramayana (Birmingham Rep/ National Theatre), Servant Of Two Masters (Nottingham Playhouse), Crossfire (Paines Plough), The Robbers (Gate Theatre), The Meeting (Riverside Studios) and Love of the Nightingale (Theatre Melange). His television credits include Finding Alice, Black Earth Rising, Hugo Blick, The Love of Books, Shoot the Messenger and Between the Lines; and for film: All You Need is Kill and Final Passage.
Andrew Frame returns to the roles of Ian/Socrates/Bartosz. His recent theatre credits include Small Island, This House, Macbeth, Market Boy and Royal Hunt of The Sun (National Theatre), Mumburger (Old Red Lion Theatre), Twelve Angry Men (Garrick Theatre), Responsible Other (Hampstead Theatre), Sixty-Six Books (Bush Theatre), Wittenberg (Gate Theatre), The English Game and Rough Crossings (UK tours) and Festen (Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith). His television credits include EastEnders (as series regular, P.C. Hargreaves), Jewels, White House Farm, Save Me, Class, Inspector George Gently, Trial & Retribution, Wire in The Blood and Touching Evil.
Troy Glasgow plays Darren/Young Maroon. His theatre credits include DNA, Babygirl, The Miracle, Harper Regan (National Theatre), There’s Only One Wayne Matthews (Sheffield Crucible), A Streetcar Named Desire (Young Vic/St Ann’s Warehouse, New York) and Fatal Attraction (UK tour). His television credits include The Bill (as series regular Ashley Morgan), The Day of the Triffids, Adulthood, London’s Burning, M.I.High, Mr Harvey Lights a Candle, Shoot the Messenger, Piggy and World War Z.
Claudia Grant plays Polly/Sophie. Her recent theatre credits include Harry Potter and The Cursed Child (original West End cast, Palace Theatre), The Noble Nine (Tewl Theatre), The Tempest and Much Ado About Nothing (Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre), Swallows and Amazons (ChesterStoryhouse), Juicy and Delicious (Nuffield Theatre), Spring Awakening (West Yorkshire Playhouse/Nuffield Theatre), Scarborough (White Bear Theatre), A Beautiful Recitation of Pi (Whitechapel Theatre), Knives in Hens (Camden People’s Theatre) and The Lover (Finborough Theatre). Her television credits include An Adventure in Space and Time.
Nikita Johal plays Asma/Kelly. Her recent theatre credits include The World Goes ‘Round (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford), Princess Caraboo (Finborough Theatre), Children of Eden (Union Theatre), Spring Awakening (Hope Mill Theatre), The Snow Queen (Liverpool Everyman), Broken Wings (Charing Cross Theatre), Aladdin (Newbury Corn Exchange) and What the Ladybird Heard (The Palace/UK tour).
Scott Miller returns to the roles of Ryan/Colin. His recent theatre credits include War Horse (National Theatre), Dragon (National Theatre of Scotland) and Don Quixote (Òran Mór, Glasgow). His film credits include The Outrun, The Road Dance, Balance Not Symmetry and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Jessica Murrain plays Author/Zaire/Queen Nanny. Her recent theatre credits include Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe), A Christmas Carol (RSC), Peter Pan (National Theatre), The Last Dinosaur (The Herd Theatre, Hull), When the Daffodils (Orange Tree Theatre), King Lear (Duke of York’s Theatre), Messiah (Bristol Old Vic), The Wind in the Willows (Sherman Theatre), The Long Trick (WardrobeTheatre), Treasure Island (Hull Truck Theatre) Skate Hard Turn Left (Battersea Arts Centre), DIGS (Edinburgh Fringe), Butter and PLAY 15 (VAULT Festival), Richard III (Leeds Playhouse), Cinderella; A Fairytale (Unicorn Theatre/Tobacco Factory), Maybe I Should Freeze My Eggs (New Wimbledon Studio) and Off (Arcola Theatre). Her television credits include The Sandman and The Baby; and for film: I Used to Be Famous, Blonde.Purple and Romeo & Juliet.
Clare Perkins returns to the role of Alvita, The Wife of Willesden. She is currently shooting BODIES for Netflix, and recently wrapped WOOL for AMC studios and feature film EMBERS, directed by Christian Cooke. She was recently seen in Amazon fantasy series The Wheel of Time, The Offenders on the BBC and Apple’s Suspicion. She was previously seen in Netflix series Young Wallander as well as guest roles in The Crown and Flack. In theatre, she starred as the title role in Emilia, which played at the Vaudeville Theatre. Other extensive theatre work includes Welcome to Thebes at the National Theatre, Little Revolution at the Almeida Theatre, The Convert for the Gate Theatre, Mules with the Royal Court and Genesis Inc at the Hampstead Theatre. She is well known for playing series regular, Ava Hartman in BBC’s EastEnders. Other television credits include BBC’s Death in Paradise, Damned for Channel 4, Netflix’s Been So Long. In film, she can be seen in Ken Loach’s Ladybird, Secrets and Lies directed by Mike Leigh and Saul Dibb’s Bullet Boy. She’s also in Censor which has just been released in cinemas. She has been a member of BBC Radio Drama Company and played Mel in Westway which ran for 8 years on the BBC World Service.
Ellen Thomas returns to the roles of Aunty P/Old Wife. Her recent theatre credits include Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, Egusi Soup and Tiata Delights (Almeida Theatre), Statement of Regret, The American Clock and Fuente Ovejuna (National Theatre), The Estate (Soho Theatre), Blest Be the Tie (Royal Court Theatre), Twelfth Night (Royal Exchange, Manchester), A Bitter Herb (Bristol Old Vic), Amen Corner (Tricycle Theatre/Nottingham Playhouse), Sisters (Riverside Studios) and Twelfth Night (Birmingham Rep). Thomas is most well known for playing series regular Claudette Hubbard in Eastenders and series regular Liz Webbe in Teachers. Her other television credits include Casualty (as series regular Omo Masters), Mount Pleasant, Rev. and Coming of Age, Outnumbered, Critical, Humans, Losing It, Trial and Retribution, The Play’s The Thing, Active Defence; and for film: Johnny English Reborn, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris and Golden Years.
Zadie Smith is the author of the novels White Teeth, The Autograph Man, On Beauty, NW, and Swing Time, as well as three collections of essays, Intimations, Changing My Mind and Feel Free and the collection of short stories, Grand Union. Her novels have won multiple literary awards and been translated into many languages. White Teeth was adapted for the stage at the Kiln Theatre in 2018. She is a professor of fiction at New York University and writes regularly for the New Yorker and the New York Review of Books.
Indhu Rubasingham is Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre. Her work for the company includes The Invisible Hand, Pass Over, When the Crows Visit, Wife, White Teeth, Holy Sh!t, Red Velvet (which transferred to New York and later to the Garrick Theatre as part of the Kenneth Branagh Season) and Handbagged (winner of Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre – also West End, UK tour, Washington DC and New York). Other productions for Kiln Theatre include A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes, Multitudes, The House That Will Not Stand, Paper Dolls, Women, Power and Politics, Stones in His Pockets, Detaining Justice, The Great Game: Afghanistan, Fabulation and Starstruck. Other theatre credits include The Father and The Assassin, The Great Wave, Ugly Lies the Bone, The Motherf**cker with the Hat (Evening Standard Award for Best Play), The Waiting Room (National Theatre), The Ramayana (National Theatre/ Birmingham Rep), Belong, Disconnect, Free Outgoing, Lift Off, Clubland, The Crutch and Sugar Mummies (Royal Court Theatre), Ruined (Almeida Theatre), Yellowman and Anna in the Tropics (Hampstead Theatre), Secret Rapture and The Misanthrope (Minerva, Chichester Festival Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Chichester Festival Theatre), Pure Gold (Soho Theatre), The No Boys Cricket Club and Party Girls (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Wuthering Heights (Birmingham REP), Heartbreak House (Watford Palace Theatre), Sugar Dollies and Shakuntala (Gate Theatre), A River Sutra (Three Mill Island Studios), Rhinoceros (UC Davis, California) and A Doll’s House (Young Vic).
Kiln Theatre Listings
269 Kilburn High Road, London, UK, NW6 7JR
Box Office: 020 7328 1000
Tickets from £15
All tickets for first preview £15
Kiln Theatre: 14 December 2022 – 28 January 2023, Opening Night 20 December
A.R.T.: 25 February – 18 March 2023 (Press Night 1 March)
FUNDRAISING EVENING IN AID OF KILN THEATRE – Thursday 19 January, 7.30pm
Please join us at this special fundraising night in aid of Kiln Theatre. Tickets are £30-£80, and include a donation to our work. As a registered charity, we rely on donations from audience members and our community of supporters. All proceeds from the evening are in aid of Kiln Theatre. Your support helps us to create internationally renowned, innovative productions, to make theatre available to our local community and to connect everyone, whatever their background, through the power of storytelling.
Post Show Q&As Tue 10 Jan and Fri 27 Jan
Captioned Performance 23 January
Audio Described Performance 12 January
Under 26 – £10 (subject to availability).
Access, Over 65, Local, Student and Group rates available, for further details, please see the website.
Subsidised tickets
We offer free tickets and exclusive discounts to those who can’t afford to come. If you fit any of the below criteria, get in touch and we can help you get a ticket.
If you are homeless, out of work or receive Housing Benefits, Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance (valid ID, statements or proof universal tax credit will be required when collecting tickets).
Employees of NHS, Police Force, Fire Brigade, Armed Forces, The Coastguard, RNLI, Prison Officers or Social Care Workers (valid ID payslip and name badges will be required when collecting tickets).
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