Jermyn Street Theatre has announced the cast and creative team for the world premiere of the adaptation of Sam Selvon’s iconic novel about the Windrush generation, The Lonely Londoners. Adapted by Roy Williams and directed by Ebenezer Bamgboye, the production runs from 29 February to 6 April.
The cast comprises, Tobi Bakare (Outlander – Lionsgate, Reflection – Royal Court) as Lewis, Gamba Cole (Chicken Burger n Chips – Brixton House, The Outlaws – BBC) as Moses, Shannon Hayes (Bitter Lemons – Bristol Old Vic, Ted Lasso – Apple TV) as Agnes, Gilbert Kyem Jnr (Hamlet and Oresteia – Almeida Theatre & Park Avenue Armory, New York) as Big City, Carol Moses, (Unseen Unheard – Theatre Peckham, Hoxton Street – Hoxton Hall) as Tanty, Aimee Powell (Family Tree – Actors Touring Company, Nothelo – Belgrade Theatre Coventry) as Christina and Romario Simpson (Django – Sky/CANAL+, Granite Harbour – BBC) as Galahad.
“London will do for you for now… And I will do for London.”
London, 1956. Newly arrived from Trinidad, Henry ‘Sir Galahad’ Oliver is impatient to start his new life in London. Carrying just pyjamas and a toothbrush, he bursts through Moses Aloetta’s door only to find Moses and his friends already soured on city life. Will the London fog dampen Galahad’s dreams? Or will these Lonely Londoners make a home in a city that sees them as a threat? In the first stage adaptation of Sam Selvon’s celebrated 1956 novel, Roy Williams sweeps us back in time to shine a new light on London, friendship, and what we call home.
In addition to former Carne Deputy Director, Ebenezer Bamgboye as director, the creative team for this eagerly awaited production comprises set designer Laura Ann Price, costume designer Anett Black, lighting designer Elliot Griggs, Olivier Award-winning sound designer Tony Gayle, movement director Nevena Stojkov, assistant director Paloma Sierra and casting director Abby Galvin.
Jermyn Street Theatre Artistic Director Stella Powell-Jones says –
“When Sam Selvon wrote The Lonely Londoners, he broke the mould. It transported readers to a vivid new world. And now who better than Roy Williams – who has similarly reshaped playwriting – to bring that world to the stage for the first time. It feels particularly special to premiere the play at Jermyn Street Theatre given that so much of the action of the iconic novel takes place in around Piccadilly Circus just steps away from our stage. I can’t wait for audiences to see this enthralling, funny, and moving play, and see the characters that have captivated people for so many decades on stage for the first time.”
Roy Williams began writing plays in 1990 and is now one of the country’s leading dramatists. In 2000, he was the joint-winner of The George Devine Award and in 2001 he was awarded the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright. He was awarded an OBE for Services to Drama in the 2008 Birthday Honours List and was made a fellow of The Royal Society of Literature in 2018.
