Kiln Theatre & Jermyn Street Theatre present
The Lonely Londoners
By Sam Selvon
Adapted by Roy Williams
The critically acclaimed adaptation of Sam Selvon’s iconic novel.
1950s London. Newly arrived from Trinidad, Henry ‘Sir Galahad’ Oliver is impatient to start his new life in London. Carrying just pyjamas and a toothbrush, he bursts through Moses Aloetta’s door only to find Moses and his friends already soured on city life. Will the London fog dampen Galahad’s dreams? Or will these Lonely Londoners make a home in a city that sees them as a threat?
Following its sold out run at Jermyn Street Theatre, Roy Williams’ adaptation of Sam Selvon’s iconic novel, The Lonely Londoners, comes to Kiln. Ebenezer Bamgboye’s critically acclaimed production opens a window into the hopes, dreams and realities of generation Windrush.
Important Information
Post show Q&A: Thu 30 Jan, 7.30pm
Access Performances
Captioned Performance: Mon 3 Feb, 7.30pm
Relaxed Performance: Sat 8 Feb, 2.30pm
Touch Tour: Thu 13 Feb, 6pm
Audio Described Performance: Thu 13 Feb, 7.30pm
Click here for Access information. If you have any questions about any of our services or need assistance in arranging your visit please get in touch: 020 7328 1000 or Access@KilnTheatre.com.
Select a performance
- Filter:
- Matinee
- Preview
- Audio Described
- Captioned
- Relaxed
-
January
-
Friday 10th January7:30PMpreviewBook Now
-
Saturday 11th January7:30PMpreviewBook Now
-
Monday 13th January7:30PMpreviewBook Now
-
Tuesday 14th January7:30PMpreviewBook Now
-
Wednesday 15th January7:30PMpreviewBook Now
-
Thursday 16th January7:00PMopening nightSold Out
-
Friday 17th January7:30PM
-
Saturday 18th January2:30PMmatineeBook Now
-
Saturday 18th January7:30PM
-
Monday 20th January7:30PM
-
Tuesday 21st January7:30PM
-
Wednesday 22nd January1:30PM
-
Wednesday 22nd January7:30PM
-
Thursday 23rd January7:30PM
-
Friday 24th January7:30PM
-
Saturday 25th January2:30PMmatineeBook Now
-
Saturday 25th January7:30PM
-
Monday 27th January7:30PM
-
Tuesday 28th January7:30PM
-
Wednesday 29th January1:30PM
-
Wednesday 29th January7:30PM
-
Thursday 30th January7:30PMpost show q and aBook Now
-
Friday 31st January7:30PM
-
-
February
-
Saturday 1st February2:30PMmatineeBook Now
-
Saturday 1st February7:30PM
-
Monday 3rd February7:30PMcaptioned performanceBook Now
-
Tuesday 4th February7:30PM
-
Wednesday 5th February1:30PM
-
Wednesday 5th February7:30PM
-
Thursday 6th February7:30PM
-
Friday 7th February7:30PM
-
Saturday 8th February2:30PMrelaxed performance and matineeBook Now
-
Saturday 8th February7:30PM
-
Monday 10th February7:30PM
-
Tuesday 11th February7:30PM
-
Wednesday 12th February1:30PM
-
Wednesday 12th February7:30PM
-
Thursday 13th February7:30PMaudio described performanceBook Now
-
Friday 14th February7:30PM
-
Saturday 15th February2:30PMmatineeBook Now
-
Saturday 15th February7:30PM
-
Creative Team
Roy Williams
Adaptor
Roy Williams is an award-winning playwright. He returns to Kiln Theatre, following the recent NW Trilogy. His other recent plays include Death of England: Closing Time, Death of England (National Theatre), 846 (Theatre Royal Stratford East and GDIF), Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads (Chichester Festival Theatre/National Theatre), The Fellowship, The Firm, Wildefire (Hampstead Theatre, Downstairs), Soul: The Untold Story of Marvin Gaye (Royal and Derngate / Hackney Empire), Antigone (Pilot Theatre / UK tour), Advice for the Young at Heart (Theatre Centre), an adaptation of The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Pilot Theatre/ UK Tour), Sucker Punch (Royal Court Theatre, nominated for Olivier Award for Best Play), Kingston ‘14 (Theatre Royal Stratford East) and Category B (Kiln Theatre).
Ebenezer Bamgboye
Director
Ebenezer Bamgboye is the current Programming Associate at Southwark Playhouse and was the Carne Deputy Director of Jermyn Street Theatre 2021-22. As a director, his credits include The Cherry Orchard (RADA), Under The Kunde Tree (Southwark Playhouse), Julius Caesar (GSA), Little Sweet Thing (LAMDA), The Anarchist, Two Horsemen (Jermyn Street Theatre) and Boys Cry (Riverside Studios). As Associate Director – Faustus: That Damned Woman (tour); and as Assistant Director, A Very Expensive Poison (The Old Vic), Three Sisters (Almeida Theatre), Sleeping Beauty (Theatre Royal Stratford East) and Steel (Sheffield Theatres).
Laura Ann Price
Set Designer
Anett Black
Costume Designer
Elliot Griggs
Lighting Designer
Tony Gayle
Sound Designer
Nevena Stojkov
Movement Director
Hazel Holder
Voice and Dialect Coach
Abby Galvin
Casting Director
Lucy Mewis-McKerrow
Production Manager
Susheila Nasta
Literary Consultant
Susheila is the Literary Executor for the estate of Sam Selvon.
Born in Trinidad in 1923, Selvon migrated to London in 1950. One of the most distinctive voices in twentieth century Caribbean and British writing, his first novel, A Brighter Sun, appeared in 1952. Several major works followed: the London books –The Lonely Londoners (1956), The Housing Lark (1965), Moses Ascending (1975), Moses Migrating (1983); a collection of short stories, Ways of Sunlight (1958), set in Trinidad and London (many first published in The Evening Standard); and, his Trinidad novels, including – An Island is A World (1955), Turn Again Tiger (1958) and Those Who Eat the Cascadura (1972). Though best known for his fiction, Selvon was a ventriloquist and wrote in several genres. Poet and essayist, he scripted two collections of plays, originally broadcast on BBC radio: El Dorado: West One (1988), Highway in the Sun (1991); and co-wrote the screen play for Pressure (1975), Britain’s first black feature film. Frequently heralded as father of black writing in Britain, Selvon is celebrated for his imaginative invention of London as a black city of words and his intimate chronicling of the experiences of ordinary black immigrants during the period of Windrush. Selvon left Britain to live in Canada in 1978. He died in 1994 on a trip home to Trinidad.