Lia Williams Departs ALMA MATER at the Almeida Theatre

BroadwayWorld has learned that Lia Williams has withdrawn from Alma Mater at the Almeida Theatre, due to ill health. The role will now be played by Justine Mitchell.

All performances this week have been cancelled, as well as the press performances, which will be rescheduled at a later date.

Performances run through 20 July.

The cast of Polly Findlay's production of Kendall Feaver's Alma Mater includes Nathalie Armin, Phoebe Campbell, Liv Hill, Liam Lau-Fernandez, Nathaniel Parker, and Susannah Wise.

Polly Findlay directs the UK premiere of Alma Mater, Kendall Feaver's sharp new look at the ever-growing generational divide between activists. The production opens on Tuesday 18 June, with previews from Tuesday 11 June, and runs until Saturday 20 July.

It's a culture that begins with a joke, a gesture, a throwaway word or a game between friends, and it ends in an act of violence.

Jo Mulligan is the first female master in her prestigious college's history. Determined to create a space where everyone feels welcome, she starts dismantling old ways of working.

But an alarming incident on campus throws her tenure into turmoil, and Jo is pitted against Nikki, a student impatient for justice.

With the college polarised and both sides doubling-down, will anyone emerge unscathed?

Kendall Feaver follows her “funny, heart-breaking, acutely alive play” (The Guardian) The Almighty Sometimes, with a sharp new look at the ever-growing generational divide between activists. Directed by Polly Findlay (Assassins; Beginning), featuring a cast including Phoebe Campbell (House of the Dragon; The Importance of Being Earnest) and Lia Williams (Oresteia; Mary Stuart), Alma Mater will ignite discussion on the right way to make a difference. 

Kendall Feaver was part of the inaugural Genesis Almeida New Playwrights, Big Plays Programme in 2019-20.