Jane Horrocks, Romola Garai and More Will Lead NACHTLAND at the Young Vic

Casting has been announced for the UK premiere of Nachtland, a new satire by Marius von Mayenburg, translated by Maja Zade, directed by Tony Award-winning director Patrick Marber. It will run in the Young Vic Theatre Main House from 20 February to 20 April 2024.   

BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated actress, writer and director Romola Garai (Atonement, The Hour, Queen Anne) will play Nicola; Olivier, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominated actress Jane Horrocks (Little Voice, Cabaret, Absolutely Fabulous) will play Evamaria; John Heffernan (Much Ado About Nothing, Edward II, Dracula) plays Philipp, Angus Wright (Flowers, Peep Show, Oresteia) plays Kahl; and Jenna Augen (Leopoldstadt, Bad Jews, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery) plays Judith. Further casting will be announced in due course.

Nachtland* is a mordant satire about marriage, legacy, and the rise of the new right, directed by Patrick Marber (Closer, Travesties, Don Juan in Soho, Dealer’s Choice) who recently received the 2023 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Director of a Play for Leopoldstadt.

Modern day Germany. Nicola and Philipp argue as they clear out their late father’s house. When they find an old painting stashed in the attic, things get savage. The painting is a quaint street scene from 1920s Vienna; the work of a failed artist who abandoned his original vocation for Nazism… Nicola wants to sell it. Philipp wants to keep it. His wife Judith wants to burn it. 

*Nachtland is an invented German word. It suggests a place of eternal darkness

Marius von Mayenburg is one of Germany’s foremost playwrights whose plays include Fireface, Plastic and The Ugly One. 

Maja Zade’s previous translations include works by Lars von Trier, Roland Schimmelpfennig and Lars Norén.

Design is by Anna Fleischle, lighting design by Richard Howell, composition and sound design by Adam Cork, movement direction by EJ Boyle, casting by Amy Ball CDG.

Romola Garai (Nicola) is a BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated actress, writer and director. She is well known for playing Briony in the Oscar-nominated film Atonement, her Golden Globe nominated title role of Emma, The Crimson Petal and the White for which she received a BAFTA Best Actress nomination, The Hour and The Miniaturist. Recent TV includes The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies, Becoming Elizabeth and Vigil Series 2. Theatre includes Queen Anne (RSC), The Writer (Almeida), Measure for Measure (Young Vic). Film includes One Life, The Critic. Director and writer credits include feature films Amulet and the upcoming Monstrous Beauty.

Jane Horrocks (Evamaria) received an Olivier Award Best Actress nomination for The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (National Theatre and West End) and further BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations in the film adaptation Little Voice. Previous notable roles also include Bubble in Absolutely Fabulous, Sally Bowles in Cabaret (Donmar) and Lady Macbeth (Greenwich Theatre). She returns to the Young Vic where she previously performed in the title role in Annie Get Your Gun, If You Kiss Me, Kiss Me and The Good Soul of Szechuan. Other theatre includes: The Room and Family Voices (West End), End Game, King Lear (Old Vic). 

John Heffernan (Philipp) performed as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing at The National Theatre where he also played the title role in Edward II and appeared in She Stoops to Conquer. Previous theatre includes: The Inquiry (Chichester Festival Theatre), What If If Only & Maryland (Royal Court), A Slight Ache (West End), Macbeth (Young Vic), Oppenheimer (RSC / West End), The Hothouse (Trafalgar Studios), Richard II (Shakespeare at The Tobacco Factory). Television includes A Gentleman in Moscow, This Town, Becoming Elizabeth, The Pursuit of Love & Dracula. Film includes: The Duke & Misbehaviour.

Angus Wright (Kahl) has appeared across stage, television and film. His many television credits include George in the Channel 4 series Flowers, Angus in Peep Show, upcoming as Sir David Graham in Mary & George and previously The Capture, The Witchfinder, His Dark Materials, Succession, Endeavour, Cursed and The Crown among others. He last appeared at the Young Vic in The Cherry Orchard. Other theatre includes Hamlet, Oresteia (Almeida & West End), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Donmar), The Master and Margarita (Complicité). Film credits includes: The Bank of Dave, See How They Run, Catherine Called Birdy, The Courier, Official Secrets.

Jenna Augen (Judith) most recently played Wilma/Rosa in the Olivier- and Tony-Award-winning Leopoldstadt on Broadway after originating the role of Rosa in the West End. She won a UK Theatre Award for her performance as Daphna in the UK premiere of Bad Jews (Theatre Royal Bath, / St. James Theatre / Arts Theatre-West End). Other theatre includes: Bartholomew Fair (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Comedy About A Bank Robbery (Criterion Theatre-West End), The Way of the World (Chichester Festival Theatre), Rufus Norris’ Sleeping Beauty (Birmingham Rep) and Chicken Soup with Barley (Royal Court). TV credits include Episodes, The Night Watch.

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