The Royal Court Theatre in London has announced a new season of productions for 2025, under the leadership of new artistic director David Byrne.
Byrne’s second season at the Royal Court will include seven plays and a new writing festival.
Highlights include Robert Icke (Oedipus) making his Royal Court debut with the world premiere of Manhunt, in a co-production with Sonia Friedman Productions.
Manhunt, which runs from 28 March to 3 May 2025, tells the story of Raoul Moat, the man at the heart of one of the most infamous manhunts of the century.
In the Royal Court’s smaller space, the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, the new season includes a return of Sarah Kane’s final play 4.48 Psychosis, in a co-production with the RSC, 25 years after it debuted at the venue.
4.48 Psychosis is playing from 12 June to 5 July 2025, directed by James McDonald (Waiting for Godot), and starring Daniel Evans, Jo McInnes and Madeleine Potter, reprising their original roles.
Joining James McDonald in the creative team are: Design by Jeremy Herbert, lighting design by Nigel Edwards, and sound design by Paul Arditti, with further creatives to be announced.
4.48 Psychosis will also transfer to the RSC’s The Other Place in Stratford-upon-Avon, running from 10 to 27 July 2025.
The remaining productions for the main house include a show coming in at the end of this year – The Legends of Them (5 to 21 December 2024), which is transferring to the Royal Court from Brixton House, produced by Hackney Showroom, and directed by Nancy Medina.
The show is created by and stars Sutara Gayle, also known as award-winning reggae artist Lorna Gee, and is an epic spiritual journey traversing her extraordinary family history.
The world premiere of new play A Good House by Amy Jephta is coming in January, co-produced with Bristol Old Vic in association with The Market Theatre.
A Good House, from 11 January to 8 February 2025, is a satire about neighbourhood politics, with tensions rising when a mysterious new shack springs up in a suburban gated community.
Also transferring to the Royal Court from a run at New York Theatre Workshop, is writer and performer Khawla Ibraheem’s A Knock on the Roof – a witty, gripping and heart-wrenching tale of Mariam, a woman in Gaza who is preparing for war.
Directed and developed by Oliver Butler, A Knock on the Roof is playing from 21 February to 8 March 2025.
The new season in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs also includes More Life (6 February to 8 March 2025), a sci-fi gothic horror by Lauren Mooney and James Yeatman of Kandinsky, set in 2075 and exploring the ethics of transhumanism, and the impact of technology on human existence.
Joel Tan’s new play Scenes from a Repatriation (25 April to 24 May 2025), directed by emma + pj, looks at what happens when the Chinese government demands the British Museum return a stolen artefact, and the relationship between art, power and empire.
The Open Submissions Festival, a new festival of staged readings, will also take place during the season from 7 to 12 April 2025, offering a regular professional platform for new writing identified through the Royal Court’s open programmes.
Currently playing at the Royal Court is Giant starring John Lithgow, to 16 November 2024; and Brace Brace starring Phil Dunster, to 9 November 2024.
Coming up at the Court is Expendable from 21 November to 21 December 2024.
What They Said
David Byrne, Artistic Director of the Royal Court, said in a statement: “Across the past nine months we’ve been bringing together the best writers, collaborations and stories to thrill audiences at the Court – and I couldn’t be happier with the result. Every show in this season delivers on the Royal Court promise of a combustible night at the theatre. From reggae royalty to Robert Icke, from glimpses of the far future to echoes from the recent past, from international playwrights to the best UK theatre makers – every show in this line-up is an unmissable theatrical event. The writers at the Royal Court have got something to say, and this season you’re not going to want to miss a single word.”
Sutara Gayle said, ‘’I am beyond thrilled to be bringing my show to the Royal Court Theatre. It’s a prayer answered. The process of making this show has been enlightening, challenging and therapeutic. I’m excited to share my journey to the world, it’s one that won’t stop until I take my last breath. My hope is that audiences will come away feeling they can embrace their own journey, take control of their own narrative and stand in their own power.”
Jo McInnes said “The Royal Court was the building that brought Sutara, Nina Lyndon and I together. Nina met us both here [at the Royal Court] many years ago at different times, which gave her the idea of bringing us together for a creative collaboration. It’s so good to be back with this epic tale of Sutara’s journey.”
Amy Jephta said, “The Court has been instrumental in my development and growth as a playwright since I started collaborating with them in 2012. To now have a full-length piece of work that has been so gently nurtured is a creative dream come true. I’ve been given the space and time to discover what I want to say, and I’m thrilled that the 2025 season will culminate what has been an intensely fulfilling development period and over a decade of collaborations with this incredible theatre.”
Nancy Medina said, “It’s a real thrill to be working with the Royal Court next season on this production. Amy Jephta is a powerful and skilful voice. Her writing is quick and clever; multilayered and deliciously sharp. She pulls on all the insecurities and nuances of neighbourly dynamics to create something brilliantly unsettling. Under David Byrne’s tenure at the Royal Court, we’re being introduced to the most exciting writers out there and I’m privileged to be part of the team sharing this work next season.”
Lauren Mooney and James Yeatman said, “The premiere of More Life in 2025 will mark a decade since our first show as Kandinsky, also for David Byrne, back at the New Diorama Theatre. It was inspired by a true story about a serial dog murderer. We couldn’t get any funding, and had to operate the lights ourselves. Now, ten years on, we’re making a show for one of the most magic, transformational spaces in London, at a theatre that is truly an icon in the landscape of British theatre. We couldn’t be prouder, or more excited, or more grateful to have been part of David’s story over the last ten years. We can’t wait for people to see More Life.”
Khawla Ibraheem said, “I first met the work of the Royal Court Theatre through their writing workshop in Ramallah, Palestine in 2021. Ever since then, I’ve appreciated how this visionary theatre fosters creative international conversations through art, providing a home for artists to explore, experience, create, and share their work at every stage in the process. After participating in the very beginning of the artistic process with the Royal Court four years ago, I’m proud and flattered to be able to return to this community as the writer and performer of a fully-realized production.”
Robert Icke said, “I’m delighted to be making a production at the Royal Court and to be working with David Byrne, his team and Sonia Friedman Productions. I couldn’t be more excited to begin.”
Joel Tan said, “My first visit to the British Museum forever changed the way I look at ethnographic displays of art. There, I see spirits bound by gazes and violent acts of storytelling. I wrote this play to imagine what release might look like.”
emma + pj said, “We are deeply honoured to have been trusted to bring Joel Tan’s wild and searing new play to life. We can’t wait to collaborate with Joel, David, and the brilliant team at the Royal Court on this thrilling adventure, building on a legacy of boldness, ambition, and innovation in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs.”
James Macdonald said, “I’m honoured to be returning to this unique play in the company of its extraordinary original cast – three brilliant people inhabiting one mind.”
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