Cast Announced for Danai Gurira's ECLIPSED at Gate Theatre

Artistic Director Christopher Haydon today announces the full cast for the European première of Danai Gurira's Eclipsed. Caroline Byrne directs Faith Alabi (Maima), Michelle Asante (Helena), Joan Iyiola (Bessie), T'Nia Miller (Rita) and Letitia Wright (Girl) in the second and final production of Gate Theatre's Freedom Burning season.The production opens on the 27 April, with previews from the 23 April and runs until the 16 May.

2003, civil war is raging in Liberia. At a rebel army base, four young women are doing their best to survive the conditions of the war. Yet sometimes, the greatest threat comes not from the enemy's guns, but from the brutality of those on your own side. With the arrival of a new girl, who can read, and an old one, who can kill, how might this transform the future of this hard-bitten sisterhood?

Funny, compassionate and daring, Eclipsed is as the Washington Post puts it, "a surprisingly vivacious portrait of helplessness".

Danai Gurira is an award-winning playwright and actress. As a playwright, her works include In the Continuum (OBIE Award, Outer Critics Award, Helen Hayes Award), Eclipsed (NAACP Award; Helen Hayes Award, Best New Play; Connecticut Critics Circle Award, Outstanding Production of a Play), and The Convert (six Ovation Awards, Los Angeles Outer Critics Award). Danai's new play Familiar received its world premiere at Yale Rep in 2015 and will premiere in New York at Playwrights Horizons in Winter 2016. All her works explore the subjective African voice. She is the recipient of the Whiting Award, is a former Hodder Fellow, and has been commissioned by Yale Rep, Center Theatre Group, Playwrights Horizons, and the Royal Court. She is currently developing a pilot for HBO. As an actor, she has appeared in the films The Visitor, Mother of George, 3 Backyards, and the television show Treme, among others. She currently plays Michonne on AMC's The Walking Dead. She is the co-founder of Almasi Collaborative Arts, which works to give access and opportunity to the African Dramatic Artist.

Faith Alabi plays Maima. This will be her professional stage debut.

Michelle Asante returns to the Gate theatre to play Helena - she previously appeared in Sunset Baby. Her theatre credits include Wendy and Peter Pan (RSC), Feast (Young Vic/Royal Court), One Monkey Don't Stop No Show (Eclipse Theatre, Sheffield Crucible/WYP), Ruined (Almeida Theatre), Torn (Arcola Theatre), Dirty Butterfly (Young Vic), The Bacchae (NTS/Edinburgh Festival/Lyric Hammersmith) and Oz (Caryl Jenner Productions/Unicorn Theatre). Her television credits include Doctor Who, Monroe, Harley Street and Midnight Man; and for film, Brand New-U, Verbo, Some Dogs Bite, London Boulevard, Heat and Sand Serpent.

Joan Iyiola returns to the theatre to play Bessie - she previously appeared in The Rise and Shine of Comrade Fiasco. Her theatre credits include The White Devil, The Arden of Faversham, The Roaring Girl, The Life of Galileo, Boris Godunov, The Orphan of Zhao (RSC), A Season in the Congo (Young Vic), Holiday (Bush Theatre), 24 Hour Plays (Old Vic), His Spirits Hear Me (Kevin Spacey Foundation, New York), and Toilet (Southwark Playhouse).

T'nia Miller plays Rita. Her theatre credits include Sick (Almeida Theatre), A Midsummer Night's Dream (National Theatre) and Crowning Glory (Theatre Royal Stratford East). Her television credits include Cucumber and Banana; and for film, Babylon.

Letitia Wright plays Girl. This will be her professional stage debut. Her television credits include Cucumber and Banana; and for film, Glasgow Girls.

Caroline Byrne directs. Her credits include Leaving Home Party (Farnham Maltings), By Mr Farquhar (Waterside Theatre, UK City of Culture), Text Messages: Macbeth (Project Theatre), Shakespeare in a Suitcase (RSC, Co-directed with Tim Crouch), The Recovery Position (Lion and Unicorn), Twizzler Soaked Ecstasy, (SITI Co, Bernhard Theatre Studio), The Children (Embassy Theatre), Lab Run and Attempts on Her Life (Durham Theatre, Berkeley, USA). She was Assistant Director at Royal Court Theatre on Adler and Gibb, at RSC on Wendy and Peter Pan, and the international tour of King Lear. As Creative Associate at the Gate she assisted on Purple Heart and was Associate Director on Grounded. Byrne is an Education Associate Practitioner for RSC.

Jerwood Young Designers Programme

Since 2001 Jerwood Young Designers Programme has given outstanding individuals the opportunity to lead on the design of productions at the Gate Theatre in Notting Hill.

The support that the Jerwood Young Designers Programme provides in both nurturing talent and offering the opportunity of practical experience has been instrumental in launching the careers of some of the country's most exciting theatrical designers. By the end of the 2014/15 programme, Jerwood will have supported 67 placements on the Young Designers programme over the course of 13 years.

To post a comment, you must register and login.