New season of work announced at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre

Performances will commence at the Hammersmith venue from early 2021.

UPDATE: On 1 February, it was confirmed that all performances of Sancho: An Act of Remembrance starring Paterson Joseph are cancelled.

After its forced closure from March 2020, the returning season of work at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre has been announced. The season will include two one-person shows, as well as a community project on its off-West End stage.

"I am delighted that we can today announce shows for our audiences, returning to do what we do best, producing great work with great artists, in our beautiful theatre" said artistic director, Rachel O'Riordan. She continued by commenting on the upcoming productions to say: "Iphigenia in Splott and Sancho tell the stories of two vastly different people from very different times, circumstances and places. Both protagonists make life-changing choices. They both, within the structure of the society they live in, make extraordinary decisions."

The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre will reopen with Gary Owen's Iphigenia in Splott. Sophie Melville will reprise her performance as Effie, a young woman whose life is riddled with drink and drugs until she discovers she can be something more. On 5 January, it was confirmed that all performances of Iphigenia in Splott are cancelled.

Dramatising the life of Charles Ignatius Sancho, Paterson Joseph will play the titular character in Sancho: An Act of Remembrance. Written and directed by Joseph, the new play tells of Sancho, born on a slave ship to become an anti-slavery campaigner and the first Black person of African origin to vote in Britain. Joseph's theatre credits include Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic. Sancho: An Act of Remembrance begins previews on 25 February, with a press night on 2 March and performances to 20 March.

The first large-scale community production will open in summer 2021. Titled Heart of Hammersmith, professional creatives and young people in the local area will develop and direct the production, telling the stories of an entire community.