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The Pillowman

Steve Pemberton to star in Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman in the West End

Will Longman
Will Longman

Martin McDonagh's play The Pillowman is set to be revived in the West End at the Duke of York's this summer, with Steve Pemberton to star as Tupolski.

The Pillowman follows the story of Katurian, a man who is interrogated about the narratives of his horrifying short stories, and how they correlate to the real-life murders of children in his town.

The play premiered at the National Theatre in 2003 starring David Tennant and Jim Broadbent, winning the Olivier Award for best new play before transferring to Broadway where it starred Jeff Goldblum.

Brought to the West End by Empire Street Productions, this new production will be directed by Matthew Dunster, and will run at the Duke of York's Theatre from 24th July 2020. Tickets for The Pillowman will go on sale on Monday, 2nd March.

Steve Pemberton to lead The Pillowman cast

Steve Pemberton will play Tupolski, the lead detective in the piece. Pemberton is known for his work on BBC anthology series Inside No. 9, which he writes and stars in with fellow The League of Gentleman co-star Reece Shearsmith.

His stage work includes the 2007 West End production of the musical The Drowsy Chaperone, the 2011 production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and the National Theatre's production of She Stoops to Conquer in 2012.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson will also star alongside Pemberton, as the author at the centre of the drama, Katurian. He is known by many for his leading role in the film series Kick-Ass, and has appeared in productions of Macbeth and All My Sons on stage.

Further casting is set to be announced. 

Anna Fleischle will design sets and costumes for the production, while sound design will be by Ian Dickinson. 

Martin McDonagh returns to the West End

Martin McDonagh returns to the West End after his recent revival of The Lieutenant of Inishmore ran at the Noel Coward Theatre in 2018 starring Aidan Turner.

His latest play A Very Very Very Dark Matter, which revealed the dark source behind the fairytales of Hans Christian Andersen, premiered at the Bridge Theatre, while Hangmen is currently running on Broadway transferring from the Royal Court.

The Pillowman will run at the Duke of York's Theatre from 24th July to 17th October. 

The Pillowman tickets are on sale from 2nd March. 

Originally published on

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