MATT SMITH LEADS THE COMPANY
IN THOMAS OSTERMEIER’S PRODUCTION
OF IBSEN’S AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE
David Binder Productions and Wessex Grove today announce the West End production of Thomas Ostermeier’s bold reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People, originally produced at Schaubühne Berlin. Making his West End debut, Ostermeier directs Matt Smith as Dr Stockmann, opening at the Duke of York’s Theatre on 20 February 2024, with previews from 6 February, and runs until 6 April.
To sign up for priority access on 20 September please register at www.anenemyofthepeople.co.uk
Public on sale is on 21 September. The full company will be announced shortly.
Matt Smith said today, “Thomas Ostermeier pushes the form and boundaries of theatre; I have been a fan for quite some time. Seeing his Richard III with Lars Erdinger was electric. When I heard he was interested in coming to the British stage for the first time, with Ibsen’s classic An Enemy of the People I was delighted to say the least. It is an honour to be able to work with him on this great play and become part of this unique project. We’re beginning an exciting casting process, and I very much look forward to returning to The Duke of York’s Theatre early next year.”
Thomas Ostermeier added, “As we face the immediate impact of climate change and global warming, and our seeming incapacity to change these burning threats, Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People is unfortunately more relevant than ever. This is an urgent reason to create an English version of the production for London, and I look forward to collaborating with Matt Smith, an actor whose body of work I greatly admire.”
David Binder, Benjamin Lowy, and Emily Vaughan-Barratt commented, “It is thrilling to be able to announce the magnificent artistic marriage of Thomas Ostermeier, his seminal An Enemy of the People, and the extraordinary actor Matt Smith for the West End next year. This celebrated production has been enjoyed in German around the world and to be able to present this production in English at the Duke of York’s is an absolute privilege. Matt is a brilliant and daring actor who is going to thrill audiences as Dr Stockmann, and Thomas is a visionary artist, and we are so lucky he is making his West End debut with this admired production.”
David Binder Productions and Wessex Grove present
AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE
by Henrik Ibsen
In a version by Thomas Ostermeier and Florian Borchmeyer
Conceived and directed by: Thomas Ostermeier
Originally produced by Schaubühne Berlin
What is truth without power?
Doubt spreads faster than disease in Ibsen’s thought-provoking play about truth in a society driven by power and money.
When Dr Stockmann makes an unbelievable discovery about the healing waters in his local baths, he holds the future of the town in his hands, but those with everything to lose refuse to accept his word. As the battle goes beyond contaminated water, barriers are broken in this contemporary production as Ostermeier shows us why this perennial classic will be relevant forever.
Making his West End debut, celebrated director Thomas Ostermeier‘s iconoclastic production of An Enemy of the People premieres at the Duke of York’s Theatre for a strictly limited run.
Matt Smith plays Dr Stockmann. His theatre credits include Lungs (The Old Vic), Unreachable, Fresh Kills (Royal Court Theatre), American Psycho (Almeida Theatre), That Face (Duke of York’s Theatre and Royal Court Theatre), Swimming with Sharks (Vaudeville Theatre), Burn/Chatroom/Citizenship, The History Boys, On the Shore of the Wide World (National Theatre), and The Master and Margarita (NYT/Lyric Hammersmith). His television work includes House of the Dragon (as series regular Daemon Targaryen), The Crown (as Prince Philip), Bert and Dickie, Christopher and His Kind, the title role in Doctor Who, Moses Jones, Belle De Jour, The Street, Party Animals, and Ruby in the Smoke; and for film, Starve Acre, Morbius, The Forgiven, Last Night in Soho, His House, Official Secrets, Charlie Says, Mapplethorpe, Screen Gems, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Terminator Genisys, Lost River, Womb, and In Bruges.
Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) was a Norwegian playwright. His principal works include Brand, Peer Gynt, Emperor and Galilean, A Doll’s House, Ghosts, The Wild Duck, Rosmersholm, The Lady from the Sea, Hedda Gabler, The Master Builder, John Gabriel Borkman, and When We Dead Awaken.
Since September 1999 Thomas Ostermeier is resident director and member of the Artistic Direction of the Schaubühne Berlin. His most recent productions for the company include An Enemy of the People, Death in Venice, The Little Foxes – audience award of the Theatergemeinde Berlin, Richard III – Premio della Critica Teatrale, Bella Figura, Professor Bernhardi, Returning to Reims, History of Violence, Italian Night, Abgrund – co-production with Salzburger Festspiele, Youth Without God, Vernon Subutex, Ödipus, Qui a tué mon Père andThe Seagull. His other theatre work includes Der starke Stamm, Vor Sonnenaufgang, Die Ehe der Maria Braun, and Susn (Münchner Kammerspiele), The Girl on the Sofa (Edinburgh Festival – Herald Angel Award), The Master Builder (Burgtheater in Vienna), The Seagull(Théâtre-Vidy, Lausanne), Knives in Hens, Nora – Nestroy Prize and Politika Prize, Hedda Gabler – audience award of the Theatergemeinde Berlin, Die Ehe der Maria Braun, Returning to Reims (Theatertreffen Berlin), John Gabriel Borkman – Grand Prix de la Critique of France, Hamlet – Barcelona Critics Prize and critic’s prize as Best International Production 2011 in Chile, The Cut – critic´s prize at the international theatre festival KONTAKT in Torun, Measure for Measure – Friedrich-Luft-Prize for the Best Theatre Performance in Berlin, La Nuit des rois ou Tout ce que vous voulez (Comédie-Française Paris) – Prix Molière for the best Production in France 2022 – as well as productions across the globe. In November 2004 Ostermeier was appointed Artiste Associé for the Festival d’Avignon by the artistic director of the festival, Vincent Baudriller, and has been presenting shows at the Festival regularly since then. In 2023 he opened the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence with his version of Brecht’s/ Weill’s The Threepenny Opera. He has been appointed Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French ministry of Culture, was German president of the Deutsch-Französischer Kulturrat (DKFR) – German-French Council of Culture, was the recipient of the Golden Lion of the Venice Biennale, Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the KYTHERA-Price for Culture, and is a member of the Deutsche Akademie der Künste, of the Académie de Berlin and of the Deutsch-Französischer Kulturrat, as well as receiving honorary doctorates from the Universities of Kent and Gothenberg.
For the Schaubühne Berlin, Florian Borchmeyer’s work includes The Return of Ulysses after Claudio Monteverdi, Eugene Onegin after Alexander Puschkin, Das wohltemperierte Klavier Musical theatre after Johann Sebastian Bach and László Krasznahorkai, An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen, Galaxy, Summerfolk by Maxim Gorki, Hyperion. Letters of a Terrorist after Friedrich Hölderlin, Romeo und Julia by William Shakespeare, For the Disconnected Child by Falk Richter, The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman, 2666 by Roberto Bolaño, Kasimir and Karoline by Ödön von Horváth, The Marriage of Maria Braun after Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Richard III by William Shakespeare, Ödipus the Tyrant after Sophocles/Friedrich Hölderlin, Bella Figura by Yasmina Reza, Compassion. The History of the Machine Gun by Milo Rau, Professor Bernhardi by Arthur Schnitzler, Dead Dog at Dry Cleaners: the Strong by Angélica Liddell, Returning to Reims after Didier Eribon, LENIN by Milo Rau & Ensemble, Im Herzen der Gewalt by Édouard Louis, Italian Night by Ödön von Horváth, Youth Without God by Ödön von Horváth, Returning to Reims after Didier Eribon, and Qui a tué mon père (Who killed my father). He is a filmmaker and works as a literature critic and curates the international programme at Filmfest Munich.