Theatre Royal Stratford East announces new programming through July 2023

There's world premieres and UK premieres galore.

Theatre Royal Stratford East has confirmed programming for the upcoming season, with shows scheduled to July 2023. The season includes the London premiere of Tambo and Bones and a Egyptian-themed Cinderella pantomime.

"This new season has a tantalising sense of mischief and the chance for a delicious collusion between the stage and the audience,” said Theatre Royal artistic director, Nadia Fall.

Anthony Neilson's The Wonderful World of Dissocia begins previews on 16 September, with an opening night on 22 September and performances to 15 October. The play follows Lisa Jones as she searches for a lost hour in her day and ends up in another world. Emma Baggott directs, and the production features design by Grace Smart and sound by Alexandra Faye Braithwaite.

Christmas comes to Theatre Royal Stratford East courtesy of Cinderella. Cinderella will be set in ancient Egypt and follow Cleopatra as the tile princess. Eva Sampson directs a Cinderella with a book, music and lyrics by Leo Butler and Robert Hyman. Cinderella begins previews on 19 November, ahead of an opening night on 26 November and performances to 7 Jan. 2023.

Nicola McCartney and Dritan Kastrati’s play How Not to Drown opens in 2023. Neil Bettles directs the new work, which follows an 11-year-old asylum seeker escaping the Kosovan war. Previews begin on 26 Jan. 2023, with an opening night on 31 Jan. 2023 and performances to 11 Feb. 2023.

Nadia Fall then directs Samson Hawkins’ Village Idiot. The comedy play follows a chaotic family feud at a county fair. Village Idiot begins previews on 13 Apr. 2023, with an opening night on 19 Apr. 2023 and performances to 6 May 2023.

The season concludes with the UK premiere of Tambo and Bones. Dave Harris’ play follows two people who are caught up in a minstrel show. In a New York Theatre Guide review, Tambo and Bones is “part minstrel act, part underground rap spectacle, part academic hoopla that throws racial tomfoolery and the n-word in the face of an audience.”

Matthew Xia directs Tambo and Bones which begins previews on 16 Jun. 2023, ahead of an opening night on 22 Jun. 2023 and performances to 15 Jul. 2023.

Upcoming productions include painkiller by Toby Clarke, Robert Hastie’s adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, and Bola Agbaje’s Gone Too Far!

Photo credit: Tambo and Bones in New York (Photo courtesy of production)