New season announced at The Gate Theatre

New season announced at the Gate Theatre

Outgoing Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre in west London Christopher Haydon has today announced his final season at the venue.

The season opens with the UK première of The Convert by Tony Award-nominated playwright Danai Gurira, directed by Haydon which runs from 12 January to 11 February 2017 with an official opening on 19 January.

"It's 1896 in Rhodesia and Jekesai has just been given her new, Catholic name. Chilford, the only black Roman Catholic teacher in the region, has decided she'll now be known as Ester, wear European clothing and speak only in English. She's torn away from everything that she knows by her fellow African, who earnestly believes the promises of the White man."

This is followed by the return of Grounded, the smash hit play by George Brant, for a month-long run, with Lucy Ellinson reprising her role as the pilot.

Directed once again by Christopher Haydon, it features designs by Oliver Townsend, lighting by Mark Howland, sound by Tom Gibbons and video design by Benjamin Walden. It runs from 23 February to 18 March 2017 with an official opening on 27 February 2017.

"She's a hot-rod F16 fighter pilot. She's pregnant. Her career in the sky is over. Now, she sits in an air-conditioned trailer in Las Vegas flying remote-controlled drones over the Middle East. She struggles through surreal 12 hours shifts far from the battlefield hunting terrorists by day and being a wife and mother by night."

Completing the season, the Gate Theatre's Associate Director Lynette Linton directs the world première of Assata Taught Me, the debut play by Kalungi Ssebandeke which tells the story of an imagined friendship between Assata Shakur, former Black Panther and the FBI's most wanted woman, and her pupil in Cuba. It runs from 4 to 27 May 2017, with an official opening on 8 May 2017.

Christopher Haydon said today, "After five years at the helm of the Gate Theatre, the moment has finally come for me to announce my last season as Artistic Director. Inevitably, I have spent a great deal of time recently thinking about the work we have made over the years. So, it is not surprising that the three plays in this new season embody so much of what, I hope, the Gate has always stood for: politically radical ideas communicated through gripping stories told by exceptional emerging artists.

Tickets for the new season are now on sale.