Shakespeare’s Globe has announced the cast and creative team for The Animals Come to the Table, a searing new play by Timberlake Wertenbaker written exclusively for the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. The play will premiere this winter at the indoor venue, and runs from 11 December 2026 until 24 January 2027.
Shakespeare’s Globe has announced the cast and creative team of The Animals Come to the Table, a new play premiering at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse from Timberlake Wertenbaker (Our Country’s Good). Directed by Anthony Lau (Man and Boy), this urgent new work was originally conceived as part of Burnt at the Stake, or the Whole of the Truth (2023), where playwrights were invited to share new work anonymously.
The Animals Come to the Table marks the latest in a new writing lineage at Shakespeare’s Globe, written especially for the candlelit indoor theatre.
Director Antony Lau said: “Timberlake is one of the foremost dramatists of contemporary theatre and has written a searing call to arms that examines our human relationship with the natural world. The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
walks the line between past and present, and there could be no more fitting an area in which to wrestle with what the future holds for us all. Funny, unnerving, and an exercise of the imaginative near future brought to life, it is a real thrill to collaborate with Timberlake on her new play.”
See live availability for The Animals Come to the Table here
The cast and creative team
The complete cast has been announced for the upcoming production, lead by stage and screen veteran Annette Badland. Her extensive Shakespeare’s Globe credits include Burnt at the Stake and Hansel and Gretel, alongside television work including Ted Lasso and Doctor Who. The full cast includes:
- Annette Badland (Ted Lasso) as Bea
- Olivier Huband (The Tempest) as Pan
- Lydia Larson (Keith) as Maude
- Finbar Lynch (Game of Thrones ) as Percy
- Simon Manyonda (Barber Shop Chronicles) as Tony
- Alex Young (Standing at the Sky’s Edge) as Anna.
The company is completed by Rosalind Ford (Ensemble/Cover) and Tobias Martin-Clarke (Ensemble/Cover).
Director Antony Lau leads a creative team that includes assistant director Sofia Gallucci, candlelight designer Elliot Griggs, composer Asaf Zohar, designer Georgia Lowe and movement director Aline David, with voice work by Adam Wallis. Casting is by Becky Paris CDG, Head of Casting at Shakespeare’s Globe.
Plan your visit
- Venue: Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Shakespeare’s Globe
- Booking dates: from 11 December 2026 until 24 January 2027
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, London
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