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The Jungle to transfer to the West End
The National Theatre and Young Vic production will arrive at the Playhouse Theatre.
The acclaimed co-production by National Theatre and Young Vic, The Jungle, will open at London’s Playhouse Theatre, previewing from the 16 June 2018.
The auditorium of the Playhouse Theatre will be transformed to house the unique set design, imagined by Miriam Buether to underpin the Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin directed play.
The Jungle, set in Europe’s largest unofficial refugee camp in Calais, moves from its sold out run at the Young Vic. In 2015 it became the temporary home for more than 10,000 people, inciting debate over human rights issues both side of the Channel.
Audiences are invited to sit on the benches and tables of the Afghan cafe in the Calais camp, with the dress circle being renamed the Cliffs of Dover and allowing views over the performance space.
This is the place where people suffered and dreamed. Meet the hopeful, resilient residents of the Jungle – just across the Channel, right on our doorstep. The Jungle tells stories of loss, fear, community and hope, of the Calais camp’s creation – and of its eventual destruction. Join the residents over freshly baked naan and sweet milky chai at the Afghan Café, and experience the intense, moving and uplifting encounters between refugees from many different countries and the volunteers who arrived from the UK.
The West End transfer features the majority of original cast members, including some who experienced the Calais Jungle first hand. The full cast includes: Ammar Haj Ahmad, Mohammad Amiri, Girum Bekele, Elham Ehsas, Trevor Fox, Moein Ghobsheh, Ansu Kabia, John Pfumojena, Rachel Redford, Rachid Sabitri, Mohamed Sarrar, Ben Turner and Nahel Tzegai.
“The Jungle was a reluctant home for thousands of people from all over the world,” say creators Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson. “It was a place where people built temporary lives and communities formed out of necessity.
“People who visited asked why we built a theatre in a refugee camp, but it’s always seemed clear to us that theatre should be at the centre of the conversation. That’s why we’re thrilled to bring this play to new audiences and to the West End, in a totally transformed Playhouse Theatre, a stone’s throw from Parliament.
“The metamorphosis of the Playhouse is a bold statement: that we need new spaces for this conversation to happen, and that the stories of the people in this play belong on our most significant stages.”
The production will preview from 16 June 2018 at the Playhouse Theatre, with Opening Night set for the 5 July.
Tickets for The Jungle are available now through Ticketmaster.co.uk.
