Zadie Smith's THE WIFE OF WILLESDEN to Return to Kiln Theatre Ahead of US Transfer at American Repertory Theater

With Girl on an Altar by Marina Carr running and Zodwa Nyoni's The Darkest Part of the Night in rehearsals, Kiln Theatre Artistic Director Indhu Rubasingham today announced the return of Zadie Smith's The Wife of Willesden to the venue, running from 14 December to 28 January, ahead of transferring to the US, where it will play at the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University from 25 February - 19 March. Clare Perkins will reprise her role as Alvita, in Rubasingham's critically acclaimed production.

Also announced today, Zadie Smith will become a Trustee of Kiln Theatre, joining the company's Board with immediate effect.

Indhu Rubasingham said today, "It's such a pleasure to be able to bring back our hit production of The Wife of Willesden. Last year's run was not only the fastest selling show in the venue's history, but was a reminder of the joy of creating and experiencing theatre together not long after lockdown. To have another opportunity to share it with more audiences is a real treat. It is a wonderful collaboration of many brilliant people, especially Zadie, who we are thrilled to announce today will also join the theatre as a Trustee.

"We are delighted to have been invited by Diane Paulus (A.R.T. Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director) to bring The Wife of Willesden to the US as part of the American Repertory Theater's fabulous 2022/23 programming; and hope to share further plans for the production in due course."

Performance Details:

Kiln Theatre presents

THE WIFE OF WILLESDEN

Adapted by Zadie Smith

From Chaucer's THE WIFE OF BATH

Kiln Theatre: 14 December 2022 - 28 January 2023, media night 20 December

Cast includes: Clare Perkins (Alvita - The Wife of Willesden)

Directed by Indhu Rubasingham; Designed by Robert Jones; Lighting Design by Guy Hoare; Composition and Sound Design by Ben and Max Ringham; Associate Costume Design by

Kinnetia Isidore; Casting by Julia Horan CDG; Movement Direction by Imogen Knight

Fight Direction by Kev McCurdy; Dialect and Voice Coach Hazel Holder;

Associate Director Hannah Hauer-King

A proper local legend. Married five times. Mother. Lover. Aunt. Friend. Alvita will tell her life story to anyone in the pub - there's no shame in her game. The question is: are you ready to hear it? Because this woman's got the gift of the gab: she can rewrite mistakes into triumphs, turn pain into parables, and her love life's an epic poem. They call her The Wife of Willesden...

A play that celebrates the human knack for telling elaborate tales, especially about our own lives.

Critically acclaimed, multi-award winning, best-selling author Zadie Smith makes her playwriting debut, transporting Chaucer's The Wife of Bath to 21st Century North West London.

Director Indhu Rubasingham invites you to take your seat at the bar, order a pint or two, and listen to this bawdy, beautiful new comedy up close, and very, very personal.

The Kiln Theatre auditorium will be transformed into a local London pub, complete with pub tables in the stalls.

The Wife of Willesden was originally produced in 2021 by Kiln Theatre in association with Brent2020, London Borough of Culture.

Clare Perkins plays Alvita, The Wife of Willesden. She is currently shooting WOOL for AMC studios after recently wrapping on feature film, EMBERS directed by Christian Cooke. She was recently seen in Amazon fantasy series The Wheel of Time, The Offenders on the BBC and Apple's, Suspicion. She was previously seen in Netflix series Young Wallander as well as a guest roles in The Crown and Flack. In theatre, she starred as the title role in Emilia, which played at the Vaudeville Theatre. Other extensive theatre work includes Welcome to Thebes at The National Theatre, Little Revolution at the Almeida Theatre, The Convert for The Gate Theatre, Mules with the Royal Court and Genesis Inc at the Hampstead Theatre. She is well known for playing series regular, Ava Hartman in BBC's EastEnders. Other television credits include BBC's Death in Paradise, Damned for Channel 4, Netflix's Been So Long. In film, she can be seen in Ken Loach's Ladybird, Secrets and Lies directed by Mike Leigh and Saul Dibb's Bullet Boy. She's also in Censor which has just been released in cinemas. She has been a member of BBC Radio Drama Company and played Mel in Westway which ran for 8 years on the BBC World Service.

Zadie Smith is the author of the novels White Teeth, The Autograph Man, On Beauty, NW, and Swing Time, as well as three collections of essays, Intimations, Changing My Mind and Feel Free and the collection of short stories, Grand Union. Her novels have won multiple literary awards and been translated into many languages. White Teeth was adapted for the stage at the Kiln Theatre in 2018. She is a professor of fiction at New York University and writes regularly for the New Yorker and the New York Review of Books. Zadie Smith divides her time between New York and London.

Indhu Rubasingham is Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre. Her work for the company includes The Invisible Hand, Pass Over, When the Crows Visit, Wife, White Teeth, Holy Sh!t, Red Velvet (which transferred to New York and later to the Garrick Theatre as part of the Kenneth Branagh Season) and Handbagged (winner of Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre - also West End, UK tour, Washington DC and New York). Other productions for Kiln Theatre include A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes, Multitudes, The House That Will Not Stand, Paper Dolls, Women, Power and Politics, Stones in His Pockets, Detaining Justice, The Great Game: Afghanistan, Fabulation and Starstruck. Other theatre credits include The Father and The Assassin, The Great Wave, Ugly Lies the Bone, The Motherf**cker with the Hat (Evening Standard Award for Best Play), The Waiting Room (all National Theatre), The Ramayana (National Theatre/ Birmingham Rep), Belong, Disconnect, Free Outgoing, Lift Off, Clubland, The Crutch and Sugar Mummies (Royal Court Theatre), Ruined (Almeida Theatre), Yellowman and Anna in the Tropics (Hampstead Theatre), Secret Rapture and The Misanthrope (Minerva, Chichester Festival Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Chichester Festival Theatre), Pure Gold (Soho Theatre), The No Boys Cricket Club and Party Girls (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Wuthering Heights (Birmingham REP), Heartbreak House (Watford Palace Theatre), Sugar Dollies and Shakuntala (Gate Theatre), A River Sutra (Three Mill Island Studios), Rhinoceros (UC Davis, California) and A Doll's House (Young Vic).

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