A play that celebrates young Black love and stars two British-West African rising theatre and TV stars will debut in London’s West End from August.
Described as a ‘universal love story’, ‘Shifters’ is about the enduring power of memory and young love explored between Dre, played by Tosin Cole, and Des, played by Heather Agyepong.
Heather (School Girls; or The African Mean Girls Play, Lyric Hammersmith) and Tosin (Netflix’s Supacell, BBC’s Doctor Who) performances received critical acclaim in the original production.
Dre and Des are young, gifted, Black. He stayed. She left. Years later they come crashing back into each other’s lives, carrying new secrets and old scars. Caught in the space between memory and reality, they struggle to navigate the shifting borders that threaten to rewrite their past and reshape their future.
Shifters was originally commissioned by Bush Theatre, supported by Jerwood Foundation. It transfers to the West End’s Duke of York’s Theatre, in St Martin’s Lane, London for nine weeks from 12 August – as announced by Eleanor Lloyd Productions, Chuchu Nwagu Productions and Sonia Friedman Productions.
The move follows a sell-out run at the Bush Theatre in West London earlier this year and marks a significant moment for Benedict Lombe.
Benedict follows in the footsteps of Natasha Gordon (Nine Night) and Yasmin Joseph (J’Ouvert) as the third Black British female playwright to have her play staged in the history of the West End.
'Shifters’ transfer is a big moment,” Benedict said. “Our dreamy, tender, unrepentantly romantic show about two lost souls finding a connection that can't be forgotten was a hit with Bush audiences.
Now we get to recreate our magic on a bigger stage! I hope what Shifters does – as well as invite new audiences to fall in love with Des and Dre – is accelerate the pace for the next wave of Black British female playwrights in the West End.”
Heather said: “Shows written by Black British women or plays centring two dark skin leads often don’t reach West End stages so it really feels like we’re part of a legacy.
Our stories in all their nuance and beauty have always mattered but it’s great to be on a bigger platform to allow them to shine a little brighter.”
The play is directed by BAFTA-nominated and Evening Standard Theatre award-winner Lynette Linton (Blues for An Alabama Sky, National Theatre; Clyde’s Donmar; August in England, Bush Theatre).
Previews are from Monday 12 August and tickets start from £20 are available at: https://shifterstheplay.co.uk/
For the first four weeks, 50% of the tickets will be available at £40 or under.
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