The Barbican Centre has announced four more productions for its Theatre & Dance programme for spring 2025, running from 14 January to 11 May 2025 at the Barbican Theatre in London.
Award-winning Irish actor Stephen Rea (The Crying Game) will make his Barbican Theatre debut in an acclaimed production of Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape.
Transferring from Dublin after two sold-out runs, Landmark’s production is directed by Vicky Featherstone and features recordings Rea made as a younger man. Almost 50 years on from working with Beckett on another of his seminal works, Endgame, these layers of personal history resonate profoundly with the play’s themes of memory, loneliness and lost love as the performer is confronted by his own past onstage night after night.
Stephen Rea is an internationally renowned, Belfast-born actor, who has appeared in films such as V for Vendetta, Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire, Breakfast On Pluto and Neil Jordan’s The Crying Game – for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. Rea helped establish the Field Day Theatre Company in 1980 with Tom Paulin, Brian Friel, Seamus Heaney and Seamus Deane.
Krapp’s Last Tape is playing at the Barbican from 30 April to 3 May 2025.
Other new productions announced today in the Barbican’s spring 2025 Theatre & Dance programme are the first Peruvian company to perform in the Barbican Theatre, with Teatro la Plaza making their London debut with their joyful and enigmatic reinvention of Hamlet. Directed by Chela De Ferrari, eight actors with Down’s Syndrome take centre stage, weaving in their own desires and frustrations with text from Shakespeare’s classic tragedy.
Also on the main Barbican Theatre stage will be the return of Clod Ensemble and Nu Civilisation Orchestra’s jazz-club restaging of Charles Mingus’ seminal album in The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady; and a roof-raising hip-hop takeover by Barbican Associate Artist Boy Blue, bringing their signature showcase, A Night with Boy Blue, part of a three-day series of events including a panel discussion, free performances in the foyers and a dance battle, spotlighting the next generation of dancers at the beating heart of the future of hip hop.
Already announced is the world premiere production of Duncan Macmillan & Thomas Ostermeier’s adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull starring Cate Blanchett and Tom Burke. Directed by Thomas Ostermeier, The Seagull plays at the Barbican from 26 February to 5 April 2025).
The season launches today with visual performances by four international companies as part of MimeLondon, followed by Belarus Free Theatre’s UK premiere of KS6: Small Forward, HighRise Entertainment’s world premiere of Lil.Miss.Lady, and works in progress from artists Racheal Ofori, Will Adamsdale, Jay Bernard and Melanie Wilson under the umbrella of FuelFest.
Other productions in the season include a new production of Dior Clarke and Stephanie Martin’s original drama Passion Fruit, directed Rikki Beadle-Blair; and Queer East Festival platforms the work of Singaporean artists in the UK premiere of When the Cloud Catches Colours.
Toni Racklin, Barbican Head of Theatre & Dance, said in a statement: “I am excited to share more details of our spring season today, bringing the inspiring work of international and London-based artists to our unique stage, connecting our audiences with companies who create new and unforgettable experiences, helping us to feel our shared humanity and navigate the world around us. Samuel Beckett’s works have always had a particularly profound resonance when performed at the Barbican and we welcome back Landmark Productions following their previous compelling productions which have celebrated important Irish playwrights on our stages. We are delighted to present Teatro La Plaza’s work in London for the first time, their focus on community and inclusion while developing ground-breaking theatre which questions today’s world aligns closely with our values at the Barbican. And we look forward to celebrating the meeting of Dance and Music, with our Associates Boy Blue, and Clod Ensemble and Nu Civilisation Orchestra finding thrilling ways to connect across generations.”
Another high-profile production of Krapp’s Last Tape to open this year is York Theatre Royal’s new production, starring Oscar-winner Gary Oldman.
Related News
See Thom Yorke and cast in rehearsals for Hamlet Hail to the Thief, the Radiohead-fuelled Shakespeare adaptation heading to the Barbican
Death Note: The Musical unleashes chilling trailer ahead of Barbican return in 2027
Barbican announces new Theatre & Dance programming for Spring/Summer 2027 season
Sunday in the Park with George Barbican revival postponed following departure of Jonathan Bailey and Ariana Grande
Latest News
Everything you need to know about The Traitors: Acts of Betrayal in London
Nina Raine’s sweeping new adaptation of Middlemarch arrives at the RSC: See brand-new images from the production
What to expect from Pride the Musical ahead of highly anticipated transfer to the Bridge Theatre
