Artistic Director Michael Longhurst and Executive Director Henny Finch today announce the first three shows in the Donmar’s 30th anniversary season and plans for the theatre’s birthday celebrations.
Highlights of the new season include Lillian Hellman’s masterpiece political thriller Watch on the Rhine – given its first major London revival in over 40 years by director Ellen McDougall, with a cast including Kate Duchêne, Caitlin FitzGerald and Patricia Hodge.
“It’s an indulgence to sit in a room and discuss your beliefs as if they were a juicy piece of gossip.”
Summer 1941. On a peaceful morning in a Washington D.C. living room, widow Fanny Farrelly anxiously awaits the return of her daughter and her German husband, fleeing Europe with their children.
As night falls, dark secrets emerge, and this American sanctuary becomes even more dangerous than what they left behind.
Known for her success on Broadway (The Little Foxes, The Children’s Hour) Lillian Hellman was also a brilliant activist, ahead of her time. Watch on The Rhine is her masterpiece political thriller, given a timely revival by director Ellen McDougall. Cast includes Kate Duchêne, Caitlin FitzGerald and Patricia Hodge.
Lillian Hellman, born in New Orleans in 1905, was an American playwright and screenwriter. She studied at New York University and Columbia University. Her plays include The Children’s Hour (1934), The Little Foxes (1939, revived by the Donmar in 2001), Watch on the Rhine(1941), The Searching Wind (1944), Another Part of the Forest (1946), The Autumn Garden (1951), and Toys in the Attic (1960).
Ellen McDougall was Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre from 2017 to 2022.
Kate Duchêne’s theatre credits include Henry V (Donmar Warehouse), Suzy Storck (Gate Theatre), Hedda Gabler, Everyman, Hansel and Gretel, A Woman Killed with Kindness, Beauty and the Beast, Attempts on Her Life, Women of Troy, Iphigenia at Aulis (National Theatre/Dublin Abbey Theatre).
Caitlin FitzGerald can currently be seen in Patrick Somerville’s HBO Max limited series Station Eleven for director Hiro Murai, and Shonda Rhimes’s hit Netflix limited series Inventing Anna.
Patricia Hodge’s theatre credits include: Private Lives (Theatre Royal Bath/UK tour); A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (Trafalgar Studios); Copenhagen; Travels With My Aunt; As You Like It (Chichester Festival Theatre); Relative Values (Harold Pinter Theatre/Theatre Royal Bath);Dandy Dick (Theatre Royal Brighton/UK tour); Calendar Girls (Chichester Festival Theatre/UK tour/Noel Coward Theatre).
In Autumn 2022 the Donmar celebrates its 30th birthday, and to mark this special milestone, it will provide 3,000 £10 tickets for audiences aged under 30, made possible by generous support from Associate Sponsor Barclays.
Michael Longhurst said today, “It is a privilege to be co-helming the Donmar as we approach this major milestone. I am grateful for the talent, tenacity and generosity of all those who have built that history. These shows kick off our birthday celebrations in classic Donmar style with an unearthed gem, a thrilling new play and later in the year, a long-awaited Broadway musical. Lillian and Diana’s plays offer counterpoint perspectives from across the Atlantic at a pivotal moment in our history, presenting one of the most seminal American female writers of the 20th century alongside an exciting new British female playwriting talent. And I can’t wait for us to blow the roof off the building with an extraordinary rock musical next Summer. Here’s to the next 30!”
Speaking about supporting the Donmar to offer thousands of £10 tickets for under 30s, Richard Atkinson, Marketing Director at Barclays Payments commented, “We are incredibly proud of our long affiliation with the Donmar Warehouse. We can think of no better way to mark its thirtieth year than by supporting the Donmar by enabling thousands of people to see this remarkable season for just £10.”
Donmar Warehouse, 41 Earlham Street, Seven Dials, London WC2H 9LX from 9th December – 4th February. Times: Mon – Sat: 7.30pm; Matinees Thu & Sat: 2.30pm. Admission: £21 – £55. Booking:: www.donmarwarehouse.com / 020 3282 3808
