The National Theatre has today announced plans to resume socially-distanced live performances in the Olivier Theatre in late October with a new one-person play, DEATH OF ENGLAND: DELROY, co-written by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams.
Directed by Clint Dyer, and performed by Giles Terera, DEATH OF ENGLAND: DELROY follows on from Dyer and Williams’ play Death of England, which Dyer also directed, and which was performed by Rafe Spall to critical acclaim in the Dorfman Theatre, closing only weeks before lockdown.
The production team, together with Giles Terera, have been back at the National Theatre this week working on the play: the first artists to return to work in the building since it closed. The new play was commissioned by the NT’s New Work Department at the start of lockdown and written over the subsequent five months. It explores a different side of the Death of England story as it focuses on the character of Delroy, the best friend of Michael, the protagonist of the first piece.
London, 2020. Delroy is arrested on his way to the hospital. Filled with anger and grief, he recalls the moments and relationships that gave him hope before his life was irrevocably changed. This new work explores a Black working-class man searching for truth and confronting his relationship with Great Britain.
Tickets will go on sale in September, when full details of the performance schedule, ticketing, and safety measures for audiences will also be available.
DEATH OF ENGLAND: DELROY will have set and costume design by Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey and ULTZ, with lighting design by Jackie Shemesh, and sound design by Pete Malkin and Ben Grant.
