No longer booking
  • Venue Donmar Warehouse, London
  • Performance dates Booking to 13 April 2024
  • Running time Approx 2 hours 45 minutes (including interval)

★★★★ “Keeley Hawes blazes with emotion” – i News

Starring Keeley Hawes & Jack Davenport

Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard, Line of Duty) and Jack Davenport (The Morning Show, Call My Agent) star in Lucy Kirkwood’s new drama The Human Body at the Donmar Warehouse.

Two worlds collide in this new romantic drama from Olivier Award and Evening Standard Theatre Award-winner Lucy Kirkwood (The Witches, Chimerica).

A story of political and private passions, The Human Body is directed by Michael Longhurst and Ann Yee.

The Human Body is playing at the Donmar Warehouse in London from 16 February to 13 April 2024.

1948, Shropshire: the winter is freezing, austerity is biting and Iris Elcock, GP, Socialist and Labour party councillor, is working tirelessly to implement Nye Bevan’s National Health Service Act and its revolutionary promise of free health care for all. At home she is a mother, and wife to a fellow GP, an ex-Navy man scarred by the war. But a chance meeting with George Blythe, a local boy who has made it to Hollywood, turns her quiet, certain world upside down. 

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Performance Information

Check booking calendar for full details

Stars and Creatives

Who is in the cast of The Human Body?

Stars Keeley Hawes as Iris Elcock and Jack Davenport as George Blythe.

Further casting to be announced.

Who are the creative team of The Human Body?

Written by Lucy Kirkwood.

Directed by Michael Longhurst and Ann Yee, Design by Fly Davis, Lighting design by Joshua Pharo, Sound design by Ben and Max Ringham, Fight direction by Kate Waters, Casting by Anna Cooper CDG.

Important Notes

Access performances:

Audio Described performance Saturday 13 April at 2.30pm; Captioned performance Monday 18 March at 7.30pm

Venue Information

Donmar Warehouse , 41 Earlham Street, London, WC2H 9LX

Nearest Tube or Train: Leicester Square, Covent Garden

Nearest Buses: 14, 19, 24, 29, 38, 176, N5, N19, N20, N29, N38, N41, N279

Directions

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Critics' reviews of The Human Body

★★★★ "A rich, deep, ambitious piece of theatre" - Financial Times

★★★★ "Keeley Hawes blazes with emotion" - i News

★★★★ "Keeley Hawes is luminous on her return to the stage... a triumph" - Evening Standard

"Kirkwood’s script crackles with unspoken desires, disappointments, yearning and some fantastic humour" - The Guardian

"Keeley Hawes dazzles in brimming drama about birth of the NHS" - The Independent

"Star casting that pays off" - TimeOut

"Beautifully acted, with finely judged lead performances from Keeley Hawes and Jack Davenport" - The Stage

Also see: The Human Body Reviews Round-up

Frequently Asked Questions

The Human Body is playing at the Donmar Warehouse in London
The running time of The Human Body is Approx 2 hours 45 minutes (including interval)
Yes, The Human Body has matinee performances on the following days: Thursday, Saturday
No, sorry, The Human Body has now completed its run and is no longer on sale.

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