New London venue Marylebone Theatre opens with world premiere of Dmitry

A new London venue is to open this autumn with the premiere of an unfinished visionary work by Friedrich Schiller.

Marylebone Theatre will launch with the world premiere of Dmitry, written by Peter Oswald (resident playwright at Shakespeare’s Globe under Mark Rylance) after peerless dramatist Schiller’s play Demetrius, left incomplete at his death.

Tim Supple, former Artistic Director of the Young Vic (National Theatre; Royal Shakespeare Company; Midsummer Night’s Dream), will direct the production which runs to 5 November 2022 having opened 27 September.

Inspired by real events in the early 17th century, Dmitry is a timely exploration of the historic and tragic conflict between Russia’s leaders and the West.

In 1605 in Moscow, ruthless tsar Boris Gudonov, former chief of Ivan the Terrible’s secret police, rules through fear and oppression. In Poland, a formidable young opponent – Dmitry – appears claiming to be the missing son of Ivan the Terrible and the rightful tsar of Russia.

The Polish army, fuelled by the fear of the Russian threat, takes up Dmitry’s cause to march on the Kremlin to capture the throne. This poetic drama cuts to the heart of 21st century politics through a rich imagining of Eastern Europe and Russia’s shared history.

Oswald’s pulsating dramatic verse brings Dmitry and his allies to life, while Supple’s cutting edge direction ensures a gripping world premiere at Marylebone Theatre.

The Crown’s Tom Byrne (The Crown, Netflix; Twelfth Night, RSC; Black Mirror, Netflix) stars the title role.

Joining him are Poppy Miller (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Palace Theatre) will also lead as Dmitry’s mother, Tsarina Maria; Globe Associate Artist James Garnon (As You Like It, Shakespeare’s Globe; The American Clock, Old Vic; Hamlet, Shakespeare’s Globe) will take on the role of Cardinal Odowalsky with rising star Aurora Dawson-Hunte (The Mirror and the Light, RSC; Queens, Almeida Theatre) as Marina.

Completing the cast will be Piotr Baumann (Coronation Street, ITV; Eastenders, BBC) as Korela and Mark Hadfield (Pinocchio, National Theatre; Richard III, Almeida Theatre) as Prince Mnishek.

The creative team is led by designer Robert Innes Hopkins (Royal Shakespeare Company; National Theatre; Royal Opera House) with lighting design by Jackie Shemesh and sound design by Jon Nicholls. Casting is by Helena Palmer.

The production will start the opening season of Marylebone Theatre, originally known as Steiner Hall, which promises “the best new writing alongside high quality dance, music and spoken word”.

For more information and tickets, visit www.marylebonetheatre.com

Artistic Director of Marylebone Theatre Alexander Gifford said: “We are starting as we mean to go on with a production that is bold and important. Dmitry is a gripping rollercoaster ride through the battles and intrigues of the 17th century right to the heart of the politics of our times.

“It pairs our greatest living verse dramatist, Peter Oswald, with the internationally acclaimed director Tim Supple while drawing on the vision and inspiration of the incomparable Friedrich Schiller. I hope it will launch Marylebone Theatre as an important new presence on the London cultural scene, which develops brilliant new drama whilst also hosting and supporting the best artists in the fields of music, dance and poetry.”

Dmitry Director Tim Supple added: “I can think of no more thrilling prospect than to open a new theatre space in London with a new play by the exceptional Peter Oswald. That this play should resurrect an unfinished work by Schiller and shine a brilliant light on a most urgent concern of the modern era is a further miracle.

“How daring to defy the challenges of our time and open a theatre with a verse drama that reaches back through the lens of a European master to grasp the intractable and thorny question of how it is that Russia and the West are locked in such a deadly embrace, and how it might be possible to transform bloodshed into kinship. A great matter of our time distilled into exhilarating human drama. The experience of a new old play in a brand new venue. What an offering to audiences and what a task for a director!”