Mephisto [A Rhapsody] by Samuel Gallet, directed by Kirsty Housley, was a searing response to Klaus Mann’s banned cult novel, based on the real story of Gustaf Gründgens, whose dreams of fame led him to perform Faust for Hitler.
Mephisto was laced with humour and histrionic glamour, asking “what would you sacrifice to do the right thing?” and “does art have the power to change the system?”
Image caption: EFFIGIES OF WICKEDNESS developed from an idea by Peter Brathwaite ; Directed by Ellen McDougall ; Set design by Ellan Parry ; Lighting design by Azusa Ono ; Gate Theatre, London, UK ; English National Opera ; 3 May 2018 ; Credit and copyright: Helen Murra
Effigies of Wickedness (Songs banned by the Nazis) from 2018, in collaboration with the English National Opera, directed by Ellen McDougall (Artistic Director 2018-2021). Effigies was a cabaret of anarchic, witty and shockingly prophetic songs. It began as an idea from opera singer and Gate board member Peter Brathwaite, who performed in the show with cast members Lucy McCormick, Le Gateau Chocolat, Katie Bray, musicians Cassie Kinoshi, Geri Allen, Fra Rustumji and musical director Phil Cornwell.
Peter Brathwaite recalls:
“There was a sense that as we spoke the names and sang the songs of these unjustly neglected composers, they entered the room for remembrance and celebration.
Kalungi Ssebandeke’s debut play Assata Taught Me, directed by Lynette Linton, now Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre. Assata Taught Me was the story of an imagined friendship between a Cuban teenager, and Assata Shakur, his English teacher, a former Black Panther, and the FBI’s most wanted woman. It starred Kenneth Omole & Adjoa Andoh. Kenneth was nominated in The Stage Debut Awards for his performance.
Suzy Storck by Magali Mougel, was the debut UK production from one of France’s most exciting artists, Jean-Pierre Baro, about what happens when you don’t want kids – but you already have them.
The lead performance from Caoilfhionn Dunne was described as “gut-wrenching” and “effortless” while in its review The Stage said the show’s “simple, essential theatricality is electrifying.”
After its run at the Gate, Suzy Storck toured to France at the Theatre National de Rennes and Theatre Sartrouville in Paris.
I Call My Brothers, by Jonas Hassen Khemiri, directed Tinuke Craig
“What do you do, walking around your own city the day after a terrorist attack, when everyone thinks you look like a terrorist?”
Part of the inspiration for the play was an open letter Khemiri wrote to Beatrice Ask, Sweden’s Minister for Justice in 2013, which became Sweden’s most shared article ever, about oppression and racial profiling on public transport.
Designer Sadeysa Greenaway Bailey’s striking and starkly haunting set of bright white, fluorescent glass boxes acted as cages for the actors, with sound design from Elena Peña picking up their voices from within.
Tinuke Craig says:
“I Call My Brothers allowed us all to shine a light on the knock-on effects of terrorism. It gave us a window into how people of Muslim heritage (or people assumed to be of Muslim heritage) are forced to navigate the racism, second-guessing and pressure bought about by racism, Islamaphobia and terrorism itself.
“While we were in previews, Donald Trump was elected to presidential office and he immediately began working on the ‘Muslim Ban’. It felt important to have a space for us to sit and confront the real-world effects of rhetoric like his.”
Eclipsed, writer by Danai Gurira and directed by Caroline Byrne
“It’s best to work with the system, and right now – the system is war.”
A funny, compassionate & daring exploration of sisterhood & violence, Eclipsed featured an incredible cast: Faith Alabi, Michelle Asante, Joan Iyiola, T’Nia Miller and Letitia Wright. It was Letitia Wright’s stage debut and she went on to win the 2019 BAFTA Rising Star award.
Eclipsed won multiple Tony Awards for its Broadway production, in which Lupita Nyong’o starred. Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o and Letitia Wright later all had leading roles in Marvel superhero film Black Panther! #wakandaforever
In their five star review, Time Out described Eclipsed as “some of the most ambitious work yet seen in London’s most relentlessly ambitious theatre: a defiant cry wrestled into a considerable work of art.”
Grounded, by George Brant and directed by Chris Haydon, was produced three times at the Gate in total and Lucy Ellinson’s performance as the pregnant fighter pilot was critically acclaimed. The role of THE PILOT probably has one of the most unique character descriptions in any script. 50 sit-ups and 27 push-ups in a minute? Ouch!
In their review, The Telegraph wrote, “there is nothing about this production that isn’t absolutely top notch.”
Chris Haydon says:
“Grounded was a pretty epic ride. Perhaps the oddest thing that happened during the course of the whole run was when we toured the show to Washington DC and one night, Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF, came to see the show. It made the whole idea of speaking truth to power suddenly feel very immediate!”
Grounded’s pilot might have been stuck on the ground, but the play travelled far, visiting theatres including The Traverse Theatre in Scotland, Studio Theatre in Washington, Birmingham Rep, Theatre Clwyd in Wales, Royal Exchange and Sheffield Crucible.
Gruesome Playground Injuries, the European premiere from Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph, directed by Justin Audibert. This intense and unusual love story, spanning 30 years, was Justin’s first professional production in London which he made after receiving the Leverhulme Award from the National Theatre Studio. Justin is now Artistic Director of the Unicorn Theatre. Justin says:
“It was the first time that I got to embark on a journey with a full creative team. It was a process where we could really challenge and inspire each other to do our best work. Being able to do so in that incredibly supportive and intimate setting at the Gate was an absolute privilege. I am still incredibly proud of that show and I owe my career to the impact it had on the writers and directors who saw it and then took chances on me as an artist.”
The award-winning Isobel Waller-Bridge was composer and sound designer on the show, known for her incredible work on BBC mega-hit Fleabag.
The Prophet, written by Hassan Abdulrazzak & directed by Christopher Haydon (Artistic Director 2012-2017), was a thrilling drama about modern day Egypt. The Arts Desk described it as “bright, sexy, dirty, critical, sarcastic and beautifully wrought.”
The Prophet was the first of two collaborations with Abdulrazzak who returned to the Gate as part of Shubbak Festival in 2019, to showcase a series of new plays with his company Manara Theatre.
Hassan says:
“How do you write about a revolution while it’s unfolding? By getting detained in downtown Cairo and using the opportunity to interview the army. The revolution has been defeated for now but “the long arc of history bends towards justice. Thank you Gate for the commission.”
Fatherland by Tom Holloway, directed by Caroline Steinbeis, a play about a father and daughter grappling – over an evening of ice cream and DVDs – with a painful past and a delicate future.
Caroline says:
“This is a play about love. A love misplaced. A complicated, tainted, socially unacceptable love, but a deep, rich and painful love all the same. The play demands a holding back of judgement and the engagement with the possibility of such a thing.”
