The Almeida Theatre has unveiled the initial casting for the world premiere of Ava Pickett’s 1536, with Liv Hill, Siena Kelly, and Tanya Reynolds set to star. The play, which won the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, will be directed by Lyndsey Turner (Chimerica) and runs from 6 May to 7 June 2025.
Sex Education’s Tanya Reynolds returns to the Almeida following her star turn in A Mirror, which earned her an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress when the show transferred into the West End. She is currently appearing in The Seagull at the Barbican and recently appeared in White Rabbit Red Rabbit in the West End at @sohoplace, and She Stoops to Conquer at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond.
Liv Hill (Black Mirror, The Serpent Queen) has appeared on stage in Top Girls (National Theatre); The Jungle (St Ann’s Warehouse, New York); and, The Doctor (Adelaide Festival).
BAFTA nominated Siena Kelly (Adult Material)’s theatre credits include A Doll’s House (Sheffield Theatres); That Is Not Who I Am (Royal Court); Force Majeure; Teenage Dick (Donmar Warehouse); and, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Curve Theatre, Leicester/ ETT)
Set in the tumultuous year of Anne Boleyn’s execution, 1536 explores the intersection of personal and political turmoil through the eyes of three women in rural Tudor England. As rumours of Henry VIII’s conflict with his queen spread, the women begin to recognise unsettling parallels between their lives and the power struggles at court. The play questions whether female solidarity can endure in a society where misogyny and violence are the norm.
Ava Pickett developed 1536 as part of the Genesis Almeida New Playwrights, Big Plays Programme. The work was also commended by the George Devine Award for its “sparkling dialogue and savage undercurrent.” This production marks the first play commissioned through the Almeida’s initiative to reach the stage.
The creative team includes set and costume designer Max Jones, lighting designer Tim Lutkin, sound designer Tingying Dong, and movement and intimacy director Anna Morrissey.
1536 runs from 6 May – 7 June 2025 at the Almeida Theatre in London.
More about tickets to 1536 at the Almeida Theatre London
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