The Homecoming at the Trafalgar Studios

Jamie Lloyd returns to Trafalgar Studios with Harold Pinter’s enigmatic masterpiece, The Homecoming.

The Homecoming is a unique contemporary masterpiece of the 20th Century. This 50th anniversary production will continue The Jamie Lloyd Company’s reputation for presenting compelling drama that sparks passionate debate.

Rising star Gemma Chan will play Ruth – one of the 20th century’s most controversial female roles, a character derided by some as a misogynistic creation and hailed by others as a symbol of empowerment. Gary Kemp will play her husband Teddy with John Simm, Ron Cook, Keith Allen and John Macmillan completing the cast.,

The Homecoming will play a limited season from 14 November until 13 February at Trafalgar Studios.

STORY

When Teddy returns from America to introduce his wife Ruth to his family in London, they discover a claustrophobic and brutal household where his father Max, brothers Lenny and Joey and Uncle Sam live in a state of mutual loathing and festering resentment. Theirs is a motherless, compassionless and lawless home where Ruth immediately becomes the centre of attention. Pinter’s sinister masterpiece simmers with suspense and rings with savage humour as Ruth navigates her way between the roles of predator and prey in an incisive battle of wills.

CAST

Starring Keith Allen (Sam), Gemma Chan (Ruth), Ron Cook (Max), Gary Kemp (Teddy), John Macmillan (Joey) and John Simm (Lenny).

Gemma Chan recently played the lead role of Anita in the Channel 4 drama Humans. Her theatre credits include Yellow Face (NT Shed), Our Ajax (Southwark Playhouse), and The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie (Finborough). Other TV credits include Fresh Meat, The Game, Mummy’s Boys, Bedlam, and Death in Paradise. Film credits include Belles Families, London Fields and Jack Ryan.

Keith Allen’s theatre credits include Smack Family Robinson (Rose, Kingston; New York), Comedians (Lyric Hammersmith), Treasure Island (Theatre Royal Haymarket), The Celebration & The Room (Almeida; New York) and The Homecoming (National Theatre). TV and film credits include Trainspotting, Shallow Grave, three series of Robin Hood (BBC), Uncle (BBC), Treasure Island (Sky) and Death in Paradise (BBC).

Ron Cook returns to Trafalgar having appeared in The Ruling Class for The Jamie Lloyd Company. His extensive theatre credits include Henry V (Noel Coward), Trelawney of the Wells, Richard II, King Lear, Hamlet, Twelfth Night (all Donmar), The Seafarer (National). TV credits include four series of Mr Selfridge (ITV), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (BBC), Bert and Dickie (BBC), and Vera (ITV), Little Dorrit (BBC). Film credits include Hot Fuzz, On A Clear Day, 24 Hour Party People, Charlotte Gray, Chocolat, Topsy Turvy and Secrets and Lies.

Gary Kemp’s previous theatre credits include Fings Ain’t Wot They Used T’Be (Theatre Royal Stratford East), The Rubenstein Kiss (Hampstead), Pig Night (Menier Chocolate Factory) and Art (Wyndham’s). TV credits include Lewis (ITV), Casualty (BBC), M.I.T (Thames), Murder in Mind (BBC) and The Larry Sanders Show (HBO). Film credits include: Assassin, Molly Moon, Poppies, Dog Eat Dog, American Daylight, The Krays, The Bodyguard, Paper Marriage, Killing Zoe, Hide & Seek and Still Crazy. Gary was a founding member of the band Spandau Ballet.

John Macmillan’s previous theatre credits include In The Red and Brown Water, The Member of the Wedding (both Young Vic), The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Almeida) Macbeth (Royal Exchange), Hamlet (nominated for the Ian Charleson Award; Donmar West End and Broadway). TV credits include three series of Silk (BBC), New Tricks (BBC) Critical (Hat Trick) and Hoff the Record (Dave). Film credits include Fury, Maleficent, World War Z and The Dark Knight Rises.

John Simm’s theatre credits include Three Days in the Country (National Theatre), The Hot House (Trafalgar Studios), Speaking in Tongues (Duke of York’s), Hamlet and Betrayal (Sheffield Crucible) and Elling (Bush and West End). Simm is a well-known presence from such TV and film roles as Everyday, Tuesday, Miranda, 24 Hour Party People, Human Traffic, The Village (BBC), Prey (ITV), Mad Dogs (Sky TV), Dr Who, Life on Mars, State of Play and The Lakes (all BBC TV).

CREATIVE

Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming will be directed by Jamie Lloyd with designs by Soutra Gilmore and lighting by Richard Howell.

REVIEWS

★★★★ Pinter’s play continues to puzzle, astonish and delight. – The Guardian
★★★★ A lean and controlled interpretation that captures the enigmatic originality of Pinter’s terrifying vision – Evening Standard
★★★★ It’s a colourful, horrible, sometimes horribly funny evening that time has not tamed. – The Times
★★★★ A bold, unnerving 50th anniversary revival which ably demonstrates that Pinter’s classic still has the power to shock. – The Stage
★★★★ It’s a vision of testosterone-charged hell – Time Out
Lloyd delivers an evening that is intense, committed and often – because of the dialogue – darkly funny. – Daily Telegraph

Show Information

Cast Highlights

Gemma Chan

Venue Information

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First Look: Jamie Lloyd’s The Homecoming

Take a first look at Jamie Lloyd's 50th anniversary production of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming. Starring Keith Allen, Gemma Chan, Ron Cook, Gary Kemp, John Macmillan and John Simm, Pinter's intense family drama still manages to shock after 50 years.  Soutra Gilmore's minimalist design accentuates this impeccably acted and psychologically astute revival. The Homecoming will play a limited season from 14 November until 13 February at Trafalgar Studios. BOOKING Book tickets to The Homecoming

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Reviews round-up: Jamie Lloyds – The Homecoming

A reviews round-up for Jamie Lloyds’s revival of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming Following the success of two seasons at Trafalgar Studios, Jamie Lloyd returns with Harold Pinter’s enigmatic masterpiece, The Homecoming. Widely regarded as Pinter’s finest play, the dangerous and tantalisingly ambiguous world of The Homecoming is a crackling hot bed of visceral tension. Jamie Lloyd’s fiftieth anniversary production demonstrates the play’s ability to provoke, puzzle, astonish and shock just as much today as when it was first performed. Here’s what the critics thought.

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Photos: Jamie Lloyd’s The Homecoming

Images of Jamie Lloyd’s 50th anniversary production of Pinter’s multi-award winning modern classic The Homecoming have been released ahead of the first preview performance. Celebrated as one of the leading interpreters of Pinter's work, director Jamie Lloyd has assembled an impressive cast in what promises to be a dynamic production. Starring Keith Allen (Sam), Gemma Chan (Ruth), Ron Cook (Max), Gary Kemp (Teddy), John Macmillan (Joey) and John Simm (Lenny),  The Homecoming is a unique contemporary masterpiece of the 20th Century. Widely regarded as Pinter's finest play, the dangerous and tantalisingly ambiguous world of The Homecoming is a crackling hotbed of visceral tension. The Homecoming is Jamie Lloyd’s fourth production of Harold Pinter’s work having previously directed The Caretaker (Sheffield Crucible and Tricycle), The Lover and The Collection (Harold Pinter Theatre) and The Hothouse (Trafalgar). The Homecoming plays from 14 November 2015 until 13 November 2016 at Trafalgar Studios. BOOKING Book tickets to The Homecoming

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Jame Lloyd directs Gemma Chan in Pinter’s The Homecoming

Jamie Lloyd is to direct rising star Gemma Chan in a 50th anniversary production of Harold Pinter’s play The Homecoming. The Homecoming, Pinter’s 1965 play about sexual and psychological family dynamics sees eldest brother return with wife Ruth to his London family home after six years in America. An unsettling show of one-upmanship develops as his father and brothers battle to impress her.  Ruth finds herself increasingly comfortable in her new family, as savage psychological rivalry, fraught with sexual tension, escalates into a disturbing challenge to moral and social order. Chan who recently shot to fame as the robotic synth in the Channel 4 hit drama Humans will play the controversial role of Ruth - a character derided by some as a misogynistic creation and hailed by others as a symbol of empowerment. Chan said "She’s a complex woman who absolutely turns the tables on the men in the house. I don’t see her as a victim in any way.’ Lloyd who collaborated closely with the Nobel Prize winner playwright before his death in 2008 said "Some people think it’s a misogynistic play — and Harold was horrified at that. It’s about a woman who is in complete control of her own destiny,’ Gary Kemp will play Ruth's husband Teddy with John Simm, Ron Cook, Keith Allen and John Macmillan completing the cast. The Homecoming will play a limited season from 14 November until 13 February at Trafalgar Studios. BOOKING Book tickets to The Homecoming

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