Royal Court Theatre announces two new plays for November - December 2023

The Royal Court Theatre has today announced new productions for the end of 2023. The theatre will welcome back Chris Thorpe with his brand new play Talking About The Fire, and will present the work of Nathan Queeley-Dennis, a current member of the Court’s Long-Form writers’ group, for the first time with a transfer of his critically acclaimed Edinburgh show Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz. 

Both productions will play in conjunction in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from November until the end of the year. Talking About The Fire is presented by China Plate and Staatstheater Mainz, Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz is presented by The Royal Court Theatre, Ellie Keel Productions, Paines Plough and The Belgrade Theatre, in association with Royal Exchange Theatre. 

The newly announced productions join Rory Mullarkey’s Mates in Chelsea which runs in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from 3 November – 16 December. The brand new comedy, directed by Sam Pritchard, is currently in rehearsals.

Bruntwood Prize Award winner Nathan Queeley-Dennis’ debut play Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz, directed by Dermot Daly, premiered at Paines Plough’s Roundabout this summer to sold out audiences and critical acclaim and will have its London premiere at The Royal Court. Queeley-Dennis also performs in the production which is a love letter to Birmingham exploring Black masculinity through Beyoncé lyrics, techno raves and the deeply intimate relationship between a man and his barber. It runs in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from Tuesday 28 November – Wednesday 20 December 2023, with Press Night on Wednesday 29 November 2023. 

For a strictly limited run in December, China Plate and Staatstheater Mainz present the premiere of Chris Thorpe’s brand solo show Talking About The Fire. Written and performed by the multi-award-winning Thorpe (Confirmation/Status), the play explores the ubiquitous but invisible presence of nuclear weapons in modern life. Examining international policy making, and the development of The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), Chris Thorpe invites the audience to engage, through direct conversation, with the international effort to eradicate the threat of nuclear weapons. Directed and created with Claire O’Reilly, and developed with Rachel Chavkin. It runs in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from Wednesday 6 December – Saturday 16 December 2023, with Press Night on Thursday 7 December 2023. 

Rory Mullarkey’s riotous comedy Mates In Chelsea begins on 3 November 2023 in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, running until 16 December.

Mohamed-Zain Dada’s debut play Blue Mist is currently running in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, until 18 November 2023.

See here for the full press release.