- Venue Royal Court Theatre, London
- Performance dates Booking to 24 May 2025
- Running time 2 hours 30 minutes (including interval)
- Age guidelines 14+
Book tickets to Scenes From A Repatriation – Joel Tan’s wild and searing new play
‘All of human history? It’s basically people taking things from each other’
A 1000-year-old statue of the Boddhisattva Guan Yin lives in The British Museum. When it emerges that the statue was stolen from its original home, the museum attempts to deflect both the public response and controversial repatriation claims from the Chinese government.
Joel Tan’s shape-shifting play unfolds the statue’s journey from China to Britain and back again, stirring up centuries of ghosts. Directed by experimental theatre-makers emma + pj (Ghosts of the Near Future, Barbican), Scenes from a Repatriation questions who can claim cultural artefacts – and why.
A Royal Court Theatre commission. Joel is this year’s recipient of the Jerwood New Playwright accolade. The Royal Court Theatre’s Jerwood New Playwright Programme is supported by Jerwood Foundation
Scenes From A Repatriation runs from 25 April 2025 until 24 May 2025 at the Royal Court Theatre in London.
‘All of human history? It’s basically people taking things from each other’
A 1000-year-old statue of the Boddhisattva Guan Yin lives in The British Museum.
When it emerges that the statue was stolen from its original home, the museum attempts to deflect both the public response and controversial repatriation claims from the Chinese government.
As statesmen scheme and grease their palms, beneath the statue witches dance, a cleaner prays, and spirits weep. Guan Yin’s gaze falls over the broken shards of human life from empires old and new.
Performance Information
Check booking calendar for full details
- Evenings
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday
- Matinees
- Saturday
- Group Bookings For groups of 10+ enquire here
Stars and Creatives
Who is in the cast of Scenes From A Repatriation?
Starring Kaja Chan, Aidan Cheng, Jon Chew, Fiona Hampton, Robin Khor Yong Kuan and Sky Yang
Who are the creative team of Scenes From A Repatriation?
Written by Joel
Directed by emma + pj, the collaboration between theatre makers Emma Clark and PJ Stanley.
Designed by TK Hay, lighting design by Alex Fernandes, sound design by Patch Middleton, movement director Ken Nakajima, casting director Jatinder Chera, assistant designer Yijing Chen
Executive Producer: Steven Atkinson; Production Manager: Zara Drohan; Lead Producer: Hannah Lyall; Company Manager: Mica Taylor
Important Notes
Post-show Talk Tuesday 6 May
A conversation with writer Joel Tan. This event is free with a ticket to that evening’s performance.
Access Performances:
Babes in Arms Performance: 6 May,3pm; Age UK & Captioned Performance: 13 May, 3pm; Captioned Performance:13 May, 7:45pm; Chilled Performance: 24 May, 2pm
Venue Information
Royal Court Theatre , Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AS
Nearest Tube or Train: Sloane Square (Circle Line, District Line)
Nearest Buses: 19, 22, 319, C1, N19, N22, 137, 452
Google
AppleCritics' reviews of Scenes From A Repatriation
★★★★★ "Vast and scorchingly profound" - The Stage
★★★★ "Thrilling... This is innovative theatre, shining with intelligence" - The Guardian
★★★★★ "One of the most daring playwrights working today" - London Reviews
★★★★★ "What theatre is for" - Everything Theatre
● "Impressively ambitious" - TimeOut
● "An ambitious piece, unusual and challenging. It is exactly the kind of play you want the Royal Court to present in this space" - What's On Stage
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