David Tennant, Caryl Churchill, Chris Bush, and more attached to Almeida Theatre's new season

David Tennant returns to the stage in a revival of John Osborne’s The Entertainer, directed by Cooke, at the venue in 2028.

Summary

• David Tennant will star in The Entertainer at the Almeida Theatre in 2028
• Caryl Churchill will open Dominic Cooke’s first season with Three and a Bit
• Alexander Zeldin's trilogy of plays, The Inequalities, will be performed for the first time together

The Almeida Theatre has announced Dominic Cooke’s first season as Artistic Director at the London venue, beginning with the world premiere of a Caryl Churchill play.

Three and a Bit, described as a collection of biting short plays, will be directed by James Macdonald and runs at the venue from 14 January - 13 March 2027.

The creative team includes Set Designer Miriam Buether, Costume Designer Evie Gurney, Lighting Designer Paule Constable, and Sound Designer Christopher Shutt.

Next in the season is Alexander Zeldin's trilogy of plays, The Inequalities, performed for the first time together. Audiences will have the option to see Beyond Caring, LOVE and Faith, Hope and Charity all in one day. The shows run from 22 March to 22 May 2027.

Cooke directs the world premiere of Jamie Bogyo's Musculus, which opens in June 2027 and shows what happens when disaster strikes in the home of a couple, whose neatly curated life begins to fall apart.

Olivier Award winner Chris Bush returns to the Almeida with the world premiere of political thriller The Right Woman, directed by Sophie Drake. Opening in August 2027, the play explores a leadership crisis, as three women battle to become Labour's first female Prime Minister — only for the audience to decide at the interval.

Almeida Associate Director Ola Ince directs The Island, the Tony Award-winning play devised by Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona. This work of anti-apartheid theatre is set in South Africa's most notorious maximum-security prison.

Sacha Wares directs Terence Rattigan's The Winslow Boy — about a legal battle to clear a young man's name — in December 2027.

David Tennant returns to the stage in a revival of John Osborne’s The Entertainer, directed by Cooke, at the venue in 2028. He stars as showman Archie Rice, whose crumbling career mirrors the decline of post-war Britain.

The Almeida Theatre also announces the first production in new annual initiative Almeida Out There: Hammaad Chaudry's Dinner in Leith, directed Ince. The theatre has also revealed the young company will perform Angel to Olympus, an amalgamation myth by Flora Wilson Brown, directed by Takiyah Kamaria.

Cooke said, “Today we announce my first season as Almeida Artistic Director. It brings together four world premieres, ambitious revivals and a landmark co-production. The season explores ideas around a world in crisis and brings together groundbreaking artists whose work I have long admired...

“This season reflects what I hope the Almeida can be: a place for bold ideas and work that entertains while asking something of us. Our aim is artistic excellence for the widest possible audience, and I look forward to sharing this next chapter with everyone.”

Check back for shows in the Almeida's new season on LondonTheatre.co.uk