New Young Vic artistic director Nadia Fall made a strong impression earlier this year when she announced her first season in charge of the iconic venue, with particular praise for a return to the European work that had been a characteristic of the venue during the 18-year golden age of David Lan’s tenure.
Now she’s announced the rest of her inaugural season – taking us up to summer 2027 – plus one sure-to-be-controversial work that will be arriving in just a few weeks.
That would be (Nov 30), a very rare chance to see a UK performance of a show by the provocative Swiss auteur Milo Rau. The four-hour piece of documentary theatre is indeed a harrowing recreation of the trial of the 51 men who raped over a period of years, including her own husband Dominique who drugged her and facilitated the assaults. Staged by the Young Vic in a one-off performance at County Hall (each country the show has toured gets just one performance) it promises to be a powerful and horrifying insight into the banality of evil.
We already knew there would be a new play called (Mar 5-Apr 24 2027) by the legendary (and legendarily capital letter-phobic) debbie tucker green. We still don’t really know what the play is about, but we do now know that it will star Lashana Lynch, in the Brit screen star’s first stage role in over a decade – a real coup for the Vic.
There will be a run for blackout theatre company Darkfield’s short, disorientating hotel-set show (Mar 24-Apr 24 2027), which will be staged in a shipping container outside the Vic.
Next up are two new shows announced for the smaller Maria studio, the first being What’s The F**king Point? (Apr 2-24 2027) by the acclaimed disabled-led company FlawBored, a dark satire on hellish medical bureaucracy.
It will be followed by a new stage adaptation of Franz Kafka’s lesser known short story (Jun 9-26 2027), about a man who fasts for 40 days and the titillation-hungry audience who takes pleasure in his suffering: it’s directed by the choreographer Arthur Pita and co-created by Pita, performance cabaret artist Meow Meow, composer Frank Moon and dancer Ed Watson.
That’s it for now: more the finishing touches to a previously announced season than a massive new season in its own right, but still some impressive stuff that continues to bode well for Fall’s tenure.
All new shows announced plus the previously announced dissent Gem of the Ocean will go on sale October 7 at 10am.
The best new London theatre shows to book for in 2026 and 2027.
The exact date that Oxford Street will be pedestrianised.
Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.