FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR
ZADIE SMITH’S DEBUT PLAY THE WIFE OF WILLESDEN
TICKETS NOW ON SALE – over 3,000 tickets at just £15
With NW Trilogy by Moira Buffini, Suhayla El-Bushra and Roy Williams currently playing its final week, Kiln Theatre Artistic Director Indhu Rubasingham announces the full company for Zadie Smith’s The Wife of Willesden – joining the previously announced Clare Perkins in the title role are
Marcus Adolphy (Winston/Mandela/Black Jesus), Jessica Clark (Polly/Sophie), Crystal Condie (Author/Zaire/Queen Nanny), George Eggay (Pastor/Eldridge), Andrew Frame (Ian/Socrates/Bartosz), Scott Miller (Ryan), Hussina Raja (Asma), Theo Solomon (Darren/Young Maroon/Colin) and Ellen Thomas (Aunty P/Old Wife). The production, presented by Kiln Theatre in association with Brent 2020, London Borough of Culture, opens on 17 November, with previews from 11 November, and running until 24 December.
The Kiln Theatre auditorium will be transformed into the infamous Sir Colin Campbell pub, complete with some pub tables in the stalls and over 3,000 tickets available at only £15.
Indhu Rubasingham said today, ‘We have assembled an incredible cast of ten players to tell Zadie’s play The Wife of Willesden. We hope that this production will be a unique experience – the combination of Zadie’s words, this cast, plus our transformation of the Kiln auditorium into the Sir Colin Campbell pub – this promises to be a truly special evening. I can’t wait to finally be able to share this world premiere with you all.’
WORLD PREMIÈRE
Kiln Theatre presents
in association with Brent2020, London Borough of Culture
THE WIFE OF WILLESDEN
Adapted by Zadie Smith
From Chaucer’s THE WIFE OF BATH
11 November – 24 December 2021
Cast: Marcus Adolphy (Winston/Mandela/Black Jesus), Jessica Clark (Polly/Sophie), Crystal Condie (Author/Zaire/Queen Nanny), George Eggay (Pastor/Eldridge), Andrew Frame (Ian/Socrates/Bartosz), Scott Miller (Ryan), Clare Perkins (Alvita – The Wife of Willesden), Hussina Raja (Asma), Theo Solomon (Darren/Young Maroon/Colin) and Ellen Thomas (Aunty P/Old Wife)
Directed by Indhu Rubasingham; Designed by Robert Jones; Lighting Design by Guy Hoare;Composition and Sound Design by Ben and Max Ringham;Associate Costume Designby Kinnetia Isidore; Casting by Julia Horan CDG; Movement Direction by Celise Hicks; Fight Direction by Kev McCurdy; Dialect and Voice Coach Hazel Holder; Associate Director Hannah Hauer-King.
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 makes her playwriting debut, transporting 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 new comedy up close, and very, very personal.
Presented by Kiln Theatre in association with Brent 2020, London Borough of Culture.
This production is supported by Dasha Epstein, Jon and NoraLee Sedmak and The Wife of Willesden Circle.
Marcus Adolphy plays Winston/Mandela/Black Jesus. His recent theatre credits include Signal Fires (Eastern Angles, HighTide), One Man Two Guvnors, (New Wolsey Theatre), War Horse The Suicide, The Comedy of Errors (National Theatre) The Convert (Gate Theatre), Macbeth (Atrix Bromsgrove), Backseat Drivers (The London Theatre), Keeler (Charing Cross Theatre), Macbeth (The Last Refuge Theatre), The Chicago Cowboy (Rosemary Branch Theatre), Twelfth Night (The Nursery Theatre), Keeping Mum, 1867 and A Christmas Carol (The Brockley Jack Theatre) and The Children of Salt (Alma Theatre Bristol). Television credits includes Essex, Scott and Bailey, Father Figure and Dream Demons.
Jessica Clark plays Polly/Sophie. Her theatre credits include Passengers (Red Lecture Theatre); The Funeral Director (Southwark Playhouse), Rotterdam (Trafalgar Studios/Theatre503), The Here and This and Now (Theatre Royal Plymouth), Skin a Cat (Bunker Theatre/Vault Festival), Romeo and Juliet, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Wind in the Willows, The Secret Garden, Macbeth and The Comedy of Errors (Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre), My Dear I Wanted to Tell You (Soho Theatre), The School for Scandal (Park Theatre), Love’s Comedy, The Burglar Who Failed and Return to Sender (Orange Tree Theatre), Be My Baby (Derby Theatre), Wild Horses (Theatre503) and Respect (Birmingham Rep).Television credits include Death in Paradise, All Creatures Great and Small, Versailles, Call the Midwife, Silent Witness, Broadside and In Search of the Bröntes.
Crystal Condie plays Author/Zaire/Queen Nanny. Her theatre credits include The Windsors Endgame (Prince of Wales Theatre), All of Us, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (National Theatre), Hamlet, Be My Baby (Leeds Playhouse), A Christmas Carol (Bristol Old Vic), Twelfth Night (Filter Theatre), Robin Hood & Marian (New Vic Theatre), Octagon, Black Crows (Arcola Theatre), Rumpelstiltskin (Theatre Royal Bath), Larksong, The Gift, Unearthed (New Vic Theatre). Her work for television includes Casualty and Doctors.
George Eggay plays Pastor/Eldridge. His theatre work includes The Last King of Scotland (Sheffield Theatres), 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), Papa Mas (Told By an Idiot), Frozen, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Power Book (National Theatre), The Ramayana (Birmingham Rep and National Theatre). For television, his work includes Finding Alice, Black Earth Rising, Sarajevo, Spooks, Soldier Soldier, Pie in the Sky and Between the Lines; and for film, All You Need is Kill and The Final Passage.
Andrew Frame plays Ian/Socrates/Bartosz. For theatre his work includes Macbeth, Market Boy, The Royal Hunt of The Sun, This House (National Theatre), Mumburger (Old Red Lion), 12 Angry Men (Garrick Theatre), Responsible Other (Hampstead Theatre), 66 Books (Bush Theatre), Wittenberg (Gate Theatre), The English Game, Rough Crossings (Headlong) and Festen (Lyric Theatre). His television work includes White House Farm, Save Me, Class, DCI Banks, Inspector George Gently, Silk, Trial and Retribution, and Wire in The Blood; and for film, London Road and Broken.
Scott Miller plays Ryan. His theatre credits include War Horse (National Theatre), Dragon (National Theatre of Scotland/Vox Motus) and Don Quixote (Òran Mór). His film credits include Balance Not Symmetry and The Road Dance.
Clare Perkins plays Alvita, The Wife of Willesden and will soon be seen in Amazon series The Offenders and fantasy series The Wheel of Time. She was recently in Netflix series Young Wallanderas well as a guest role on popular series The Crown and Flack. She recently starred in a leading role in Emilia, which played at the Vaudeville Theatre. She has multiple theatre credits under her belt at some of the most prestigious theatres ranging from Welcome to Thebes at the Royal National Theatre, Little Revolution at the Almeida, 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.
Hussina Raja plays Asma. Theatre credits include Last King of Scotland (Sheffield Crucible), The Effect (TOR Theatre), Great Britain (Hackney Showrooms), Spooky Action at a Distance (Gate Theatre), Tomorrow (Arts Theatre). Television credits includeBack to Life, Informer, A Discovery of Witches, Murdered for Love, The Level, The Watchman. Film credits include The Long Goodbye, A Moving Image, The Survivalist. Radio credits include French like Faïza (BBC Radio 3); Bernice Summerfield: The Angel of History, CICERO (Big Finnish Productions).
Theo Solomon plays Darren/Young Maroon/Colin. His theatre work includes Suzy Stock (Gate Theatre), Woyzeck (The Old Vic), Traitor (Pilot Theatre), Hamlet (Black Live Theatre – UK tour), Karagula (Soho Theatre), My Father Odysseus and The Minotaur (Unicorn Theatre). For television, his work includes Temple and Enterprice; and for film, Surviving Christmas.
Ellen Thomas returns to Kiln Theatre to play Aunty P/Old Wife – she previously appeared in The Amen Corner (also Nottingham Playhouse). Her other theatre work includes Hoard (Arcola Theatre), Egusi Soup (Menagerie Theatre), Tiata Delights, Moon on a Rainbow Shawl (Almeida Theatre), Statement of Regret, The American Clock, Fuente Ovejuna (National Theatre), The Estate (Soho Theatre), Twelfth Night (Royal Exchange Theatre), A Bitter Herb (Bristol Old Vic), Criminals in Love (Contact Theatre), Leonora’s Dance (Black Theatre Co-operative), Echo the Bone (Lyric Hammersmith) and Twelfth Night (Birmingham Rep). Her extensive television work includes In the Long Run, Dark Money, Queen and I, Mount Pleasant, Critical, Humans, Doctor Who, as well as regular roles in Teachers, Clare in the Community, Coming of Age, Rev, EastEnders, Lenny Henry in Pieces, Cardiac Arrest, London Bridge, Holding On and Come Fly With Me; and for film, Golden Years, The Love Punch, It’s a Lot, Ashes, Ryan and Ronnie, Risk Addiction, Clubbed, Breaking and Entering, Wonderland, South West Nine and Johnny English Reborn.
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. Zadie Smith divides her time between New York and London.
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 Great Wave, Ugly Lies the Bone, The Motherf**cker with the Hat (Evening Standard Award for Best Play), The Waiting Room (all 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)