Christopher Haydon Announces Cast for the UK Premiere of THE CONVERT

Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre, Christopher Haydon, today announces the cast for the UK première of Danai Gurira's The Convert. Following the success of her critically acclaimed Eclipsed, which ran at the Gate in 2015, Gurira's The Convert will open the Gate's Resist! season, a series of plays about rebellion and revolution. In his final production for the Gate, Haydon directs Stefan Adegbola (Chilford), Marcus Adolphy (Uncle), Fiston Barek (Tamba), Joan Iyiola (Prudence) Richard Pepple (Chancellor), Clare Perkins (Mai Tamba) and Mimi Ndiweni (Jekesai/Ester).

"Western cultural impositions and Ancient African traditions make strange bedfellows. Never sleeping with both eyes shut for fear the other will strike."

It's 1896 in Rhodesia and Jekesai has just been given her new, Catholic name. Chilford, the only black Roman Catholic teacher in the region, has decided she'll now be known as Ester, wear European clothing and speak only in English. She's torn away from everything that she knows by her fellow African, who earnestly believes the promises of the White man.

From Tony Award-nominated playwright Danai Gurira, The Convert is a compelling exploration of a pivotal moment in history, when resisting the invading Western culture could mean death.

Danai Gurira is an award-winning playwright and actress. Her play Eclipsed received its UK première at the Gate Theatre in 2015, and later was produced on Broadway where it was nominated earlier this year for the Tony Award for Best Play. Her other plays include Familiar which premièred at Yale Repertory Theatre in January 2015 directed by Rebecca Taichman and In The Continuum which she co-wrote with Nikkole Salter. As an actress, she plays Michonne in AMC's critically-acclaimed original series The Walking Dead. Her film credits include Mother of George, The Visitor, 3 Backyards, and Restless City and the upcoming All Eyez On Me and Black Panther. She was a Hodder Fellow at Princeton University and she is also the recipient of the prestigious Whiting Writers Award (2012). She is co-founder and President of Almasi, a Zimbabwean American Dramatic Arts Collaborative Organization.

Stefan Adegbola plays Chilford and recent theatre credits include The Merchant of Venice (International Tour), After Independence (Arcola Theatre), Theatre Café Festival Denmark (Company of Angels), The Christians (Gate Theatre/Traverse Theatre), The Merchant of Venice, Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare's Globe), Widower's Houses (Orange Tree Theatre), The Epic Adventure of Nhamo the Manyika Warrior and His Sexy Wife Chipo (Tiata Fahodzi Tour) Othello (Riverside Studios) Midsummer Night's Dream (Noel Coward Theatre) and Relish (National Youth Theatre).

Marcus Adolphy plays Uncle and recent theatre credits include Macbeth (Atrix Bromsgrove), The Suicide, The Comedy of Errors (National Theatre), Backseat Drivers (The London Theatre), Keeler (The Charing Cross Theatre), Macbeth (The Last Refuge Theatre), The Chicago Cowboy (Rosemary Branch Theatre), Twelfth Night (The Nursery Theatre), Keeping Mum, 1867 and A Christmas Carol (The Brockley Jack Theatre) and The Children of Salt (Alma Theatre Bristol). Television credits Includes Scott and Bailey, Father Figure and Dream Demons.

Fiston Barek plays Tamba and recent theatre credits include King Lear (Old Vic), The Rolling Stone (Manchester Royal Exchange and The Orange Tree Theatre), Routes and Truth and Reconciliation (Royal Court), Love the Sinner (National Theatre) and Little Baby Jesus (Oval House).

Joan Iyiola returns to the Gate to play Prudence and recent theatre credits include They Drink It In The Congo (Almeida) Omeros (Shakespeare's Globe) Eclipsed and The Rise and Shine of Comrade Fiasco (Gate Theatre) Season in The Congo (Young Vic) The White Devil, Arden of Faversham, The Roaring Girl, The Orphan of Zhao, Boris Godunov and A Life of Galileo (RSC). TV credits include New Blood.

Mimi Ndiweni plays Jekesai/Ester and recent theatre credits include Soul (Royal & Derngate Northampton/Hackney Empire), Wendy and Peter Pan and Taming of the Shrew (RSC) Sky Hawk (Theatr Clwyd), Hamlet and Incomplete and Random Acts of Kindness (Richard Burton Company/RWCMD) and This is Not an Exit and I Can Hear You, Revolt. She said. Revolt Again and The Ant and the Cicada (RSC). TV credits include Yonderland, Mr Selfridge and for film The Legend of Tarzan.

Clare Perkins plays Mai Tamba and recent theatre credits include Removal Men (Yard Theatre), Play On, Little Revolution (Almeida), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (National Theatre), The House That Will Not Stand, Fabulation (Tricycle Theatre), and Our Country's Good, Cyrano De Bergerac (Nuffield Theatre Southampton). Television credits include Family Affairs, EastEnders, and Damned.

Richard Pepple plays Chancellor and recent theatre credits include They Drink It In the Congo (Almeida), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (York Theatre Royal), Belong (Royal Court), Fixer (Oval House Theatre) In The Blood (Finborough Theatre), Coriolanus (RSC). Television credits include Magnum Opus, Dates and The Dumping Ground and for film Beast Of No Nation and The Vintage.

Christopher Haydon directs. He is Artistic Director at the Gate Theatre and formerly an Associate Director at the Bush Theatre. His credits at the Gate include Diary of a Madman (also Traverse Theatre), The Iphigenia Quartet, The Christians (also Traverse Theatre, winner: Fringe First), Grounded (also Traverse Theatre, Studio Theatre Washington DC, national and international tour; winner: Fringe First, Best Production - Off West End Awards), Image of an Unknown Young Woman (winner: Best Production, Off West End Awards), The Edge of Our Bodies, Trojan Women, Purple Heart, The Prophet and Wittenburg. Other theatre credits include Twelve Angry Men (Birmingham Rep/West End), Sixty-Six Books, In the Beginning (Bush Theatre/Westminster Abbey), A Safe Harbour for Elizabeth Bishop (Southbank Centre), Grace, Pressure Drop (On Theatre), Deep Cut (Sherman Cymru/National Tour), Monsters, Notes from Underground (Arcola Theatre) and A Number (Salisbury Playhouse). His short films include The Taming of the Shrew/Two Gentleman of Verona (Shakespeare's Globe), Devil in the Detail (Royal Court Theatre/Guardian). As a journalist he has written for The Scotsman, The Financial Times, The Independent, The Guardian, The New Statesman and Prospect Magazine. He is the co-editor of three books: Conversations on Religion, Conversations on Truth (Continuum), and Identity and Identification (Black Dog).

For more information visit www.gatetheatre.co.uk.

To post a comment, you must register and login.