Jamie Lloyd heads 2017 Bush Theatre season as the West London venue reopens

The Bush Theatre reopens with brand new season.

Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre Madani Younis today announced the inaugural season for the recently redeveloped West London venue across two performance spaces, including work from Jamie Lloyd, Rajiv Joseph, Taylor Mac, Nadia Fall, Robert Hastie and Chris Thompson.

In March 2017 the Bush Theatre will return home following a £4.3m revitalisation of the venue. The venue strives to create a space which nurtures, develops and showcases the best of new artists and their work; reflects the local, national and international communities and encourages the diversification of artists and artistic leadership in the UK.

The 2017 season from April to November 2017 will include three new commissions, three world premieres, two European premieres and one production that will tour nationally.

Jamie Lloyd will direct the European premiere of Guards at the Taj by Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph which will run at the venue from 7 April to 20 May 2017. The New York premiere won the Obie Award for Best New American Play and the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play when it premiered at the Atlantic Theater in 2015.

This will be followed by the European premiere of Hir by Taylor Mac, directed by Nadia Fall which will run from 15 June to 22 July 2017. Mac is an artist and writer whose recent 24-Decade History of Popular Music put him at the forefront of alternative responses to American culture in a 24 hour performance in New York City.

A new commission by the Bush Theatre called Of Kith and Kin by Chris Thompson will run from 18 October to 25 November in co-production with Sheffield Theatres and directed by Sheffield Theatres' new Artistic Director Robert Hastie.

The Bush also announced the first season of work in its new space The Studio which is a 70 seat venue designed to increase the artistic output of the Bush Theatre, and provide a new generation of emerging writers and artists with a flexible, intimate space to create and showcase the best in new writing. The first season will feature three world premieres, While We're Here (26 April to 27 May 2017) in a co-production between the Bush Theatre, Up in Arms and Farnham Maltings; Nassim by Nassim Soleimanpour (24 to 29 July 2017) directed by Bush Associate Director Omar Elerian, starring the playwright himself; and Ramona Tells Jim by Sophie Wu (18 September - 21 October 2017).

Madani Younis said of the news: "With the global political context shifting, and the emergence of pervasive right wing politics, it's more important than ever that artists and theatres agitate as well as entertain. With the redevelopment of our building, we are proud to be able to embrace new voices who will breathe life into this remarkable building. It's their stories of joy, love, anger and (most of all) hope that will inspire a new generation of audiences. This year has rocked our very foundations: we might be less assured but we are more honest and I can't wait to begin to fight back when we reopen the Bush in 2017."

Upon reopening, the building will be more sustainable and entirely accessible, with a new entrance, front-of-house area and exterior garden terrace to the main street. This sees a significant growth for the Bush since moving from above the pub on Shepherd's Bush Green in 2011 - which will see audience grow from 16,000 to a projected 60,000 in just six years.

Tickets for the new season are now on sale.