Slave Play

A Much-Anticipated West-End Transfer

After rapturous acclaim on Broadway, where it was nominated for a record 12 Tony Awards in 2021, Jeremy O. Harris' Slave Play is set to premiere in London this year, coming to the Noel Coward Theatre from June 29th. Starring Fisayo Akinade, Aaron Heffernan, Kit Harington and Olivia Washington alongside four of the original Broadway cast and director Robert O'Hara, the acclaimed comedy has received rave reviews for its bold examination of race, gender, trauma, and sexuality through the juxtaposition of the old South and 21st-century America.

On the transfer, O. Harris commented about creating opportunities for actors of colour; "It was a play written for my friends, actors like myself, who felt underserved by the options available to them to explore the unspoken terrain of both American history and our collective unconscious in relation to those histories." Adding "I hope that with this production even more work by writers of colour will find support on our largest commercial stage."

What is the story?

Slave Play follows three interracial couples staying on the MacGregor Plantation, where a shocking antebellum fever dream unfolds. The couples are undergoing "sexual performance therapy", which blurs the lines between past and present to devastating effect. Thought-provoking and pulling no punches, the play's sizzling power dynamics and building tensions collide in a thought-provoking and incredibly timely whirlwind.