Shifters Tickets

The past and present blend in Shifters, a slow-burn play of enduring love starring Heather Agyepong (School Girls; or,The African Mean Girls Play) and Tosin Cole (BBC’s Doctor Who). Book Shifters tickets on London Theatre.

Shifters in London is written by Benedict Lombe, winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for Playwriting. The play, commissioned by Bush Theatre, had a sell-out run from February to March of 2024 and was an immediate hit with critics. As the 4-star London Theatre review said, “The irresistibly likeable Cole is a lanky, rangy presence who draws you to him from the very start.” Now, the hit show comes to Duke of York Theatre.

Shifters is a play that tells the story of Dre (Tosin Cole) and Des (Heather Agyepong), who were lovers as teenagers. When they reconnect eight years later, they find that while much has changed, much has stayed the same. Through the play, topics of love and destiny are explored alongside family trauma, grief, and abuse.

The show is just the third by a Black British female playwright to be staged in London’s West End. As Heather Agyepong said, “Shows written by Black British women or plays centering two dark skin leads often don’t reach West End stages, so it really feels like we’re part of a legacy. Our stories in all their nuance and beauty have always mattered but it’s great to be on a bigger platform to allow them to shine a little brighter.”

The play includes an excellent creative team, including director Lynette Linton (Sweat), set and costume designer Alex Berry (Macbeth (an undoing)), Olivier and Tony-winning lighting designer Neil Austin (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), and Tony-winning sound designer Tony Gayle (My Neighbour Totoro).