Kristin Scott Thomas, Lucian Msamati, Imelda Staunton and Tamsin Greig will be reprising their Talking Heads roles for live audiences, as the Bridge Theatre has announced it plans to reopen.
The theatre’s return during September and October will depend on the government giving the go ahead for socially distanced indoor performances.
Monica Dolan, Maxine Peake, Lesley Manville and Rochenda Sandall will also appear in eight of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads monologues, which were revived for the BBC over the summer and led by the Bridge's artistic director Nicholas Hytner.
Three monologues by Inua Ellams, Yolanda Mercy and Zodwa Nyoni will run alongside these, with the first two performed live by their writers.
Ralph Fiennes will star in a new monologue by David Hare about his own experience with coronavirus, which will kick off the theatre’s reopening.
The theatre said in a statement: “We are hoping that we will get the green light to open with a reduced capacity of 250 seats and stringent safety measures, and we are inviting audiences from today to book seats with the assurance that, of course, if the season is delayed there will be automatic refunds for any performances that can't go ahead.”
They added that everyone at the theatre is “excited” at the prospect of reopening but “the safety of audiences and the well-being of all those who work at the Bridge remain our chief concern”.
Theatres had been given the go ahead to reopen at the start of August, however this decision was reversed and no new date has yet been announced.
