Full cast announced for Samuel Adamson's WIFE

‘Nora slammed the door on a broken, obsolete system for us, and now a hundred years later we have this free, independent union.’

1. 1988. 2019. 2042. Four couples intersect with a production of Ibsen’sA Doll’s House. When it comes to identity, gender and unrequited love, how do societal expectations and pressures change over time?

Samuel Adamson maps a constellation of four queer stories within four generations in one family. The world première of this captivating study of sexuality across the ages is directed by Artistic Director Indhu Rubasingham.

Artistic director of Kiln Theatre and director of Wife, Indhu Rubasingham said today, “I am very proud that Wife is receiving its world première at Kiln Theatre. The play explores the changes within the institution of marriage, from the 1950s to today to an imaginative future, and we are excited to ignite discussion around queer identities and the boxes society tries to put us in.”

Writer Samuel Adamson added, “I’m delighted that the world première of Wife is taking place at the Kiln, and that Indhu Rubasingham is directing the play. It’s a particular honour to be a part of the opening season of the beautifully refurbished theatre, which is such a welcoming space for communities – local, national and international – to come and share stories.”

Samuel Adamson’s plays and adaptations for the stage include Running Wild (Chichester Festival Theatre/Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), My Name is Frida (Hoard Festival, New Vic Stoke), Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya (West Yorkshire Playhouse), The Light Princess (National Theatre), Gabriel (Shakespeare’s Globe), Ostrovsky’s Larisa and the Merchants (Arcola Theatre), Frank & Ferdinand (National Theatre Connections), Decade (Headlong Theatre), Mrs Affleck (National Theatre), Some Kind of Bliss (Trafalgar Studios), All About My Mother (Old Vic), A Chain Play (Almeida Theatre), Southwark Fair (National Theatre), Fish and Company (National Youth Theatre/Soho Theatre), Ibsen’s Pillars Of The Community (National Theatre), Schnitzler’s Professor Bernhardi (Arcola Theatre), 24 Hour Plays (Old Vic), Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (Southwark Playhouse), Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard (Oxford Stage Company/Riverside Studios), Chekhov’s Three Sisters (Oxford Stage Company/Whitehall Theatre), Drink, Dance, Laugh and Lie (Bush Theatre), Grace Note (Peter Hall Company/Old Vic) and Clocks and Whistles (Bush Theatre).

Richard Cant plays Peter/Ivar at 58/Landlord.His theatre credits After Edward, Edward the Second (Shakespeare’s Globe), Maydays, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing (RSC), Saint Joan (Donmar Warehouse), My Night with Reg (Donmar Warehouse/Apollo Theatre), Medea (Almeida Theatre), The Trial (Young Vic), War Horse (New London Theatre), Salome (Headlong),Troilus and Cressida, Cymbeline (Cheek by Jowl), Original Sin, The Country Wife (Sheffield Theatres), Other People (Royal Court Theatre), Pera Palas (Gate Theatre), The Canterbury Tales (Garrick Theatre) and Charley’s Aunt (York Theatre Royal). His television credits include Taboo, Outlander, Bleak House and The Way We Live Now; and for film, Mary Queen of Scots, Stan & Ollie, Sparkle, (Past Present Future) Imperfect and The Lawless Heart.

Karen Fishwick plays Daisy/Clare. Her theatre credits include Romeo and Juliet, The Merry Wives of Windsor (RSC), Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour (Edinburgh Festival Fringe/UK tour/National Theatre/Duke of York’s Theatre - Olivier Award nominated for Best Supporting Actress), Glasgow Girls (Citizen’s Theatre), Caucasian Chalk Circle (Royal Lyceum Theatre), Dirt Under the Carpet (Òran Mór), Hello, Dolly!, Present Laughter, A Chorus of Disapproval, Lady Windermere's Fan, Whisky Kisses, The Yellow on the Broom, The Admirable Crichton and Mr Bolfy (Pitlochry Festival Theatre). Her television credits include Badults.

Pamela Hardman plays Character Actress /Marjorie/Embassy Assistant. Her theatre credits include North by Northwest (Bath Theatre Royal/Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto), The Dresser (UK tour/Duke of York’s Theatre), Taken at Midnight (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Mother Clap’s Molly House (National Theatre/Aldwych Theatre), It Run’s in The Family, Funny Money(Playhouse Theatre), An Inspector Calls, Noises Off, Talking Heads, Lettice and Lovage, Equus, Quartet and Single Spies (UK tour).

Joshua James plays Robert/Finn/Ivar at 28. His theatre credits include Lady Windemere's Fan (Vaudeville Theatre) King Lear (Shakespeare's Globe), Life of Galileo (Young Vic), Mary Stuart (Almeida Theatre), Platnov/The Seagull, Here We Go, Light Shining In Buckinghamshire, Treasure Island (National Theatre), The War Has Not Started Yet (Theatre Royal Plymouth), Fathers and Sons (Donmar Warehouse), and Bring Up the Bodies and Wolf Hall (RSC). His television credits include McMafia, Black Mirror, Utopia, Whites and Identity; and for film, Darkest Hour, Criminal and Summer in February.

Calam Lynch plays Eric/Cas. His theatre credits include Much Ado About Nothing (Rose Theatre Kingston). His television credits include Derry Girls and Mrs Wilson; and for film, Dunkirk.

Sirine Saba plays Suzannah. Her theatre credits include The Winter’s Tale, King Lear, Holy Warriors, Anthony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare’s Globe), Goats, The Crossings Play, Fireworks, The Rise and Fall of a Lebanese Pop Princess (Royal Court Theatre), Why it’s Kicking off Everywhere (Young Vic), The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Socialism (Hampstead Theatre), Another World, Nation (National Theatre), The Invisible (Bush Theatre), Next Fall (Southwark Playhouse), The Winter’s Tale (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), The Keepers of Infinite Space (Park Theatre), The Fear of Breathing (Finborough Theatre), Testing The Echo (Tricycle Theatre) and Baghdad Wedding (Soho Theatre). Her television credits includeUnforgotten and Footballers Wive$: Overtime; and for film, I Am Slave.

Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre Indhu Rubasingham directs. Her work for the company includes Holy Sh!t, White Teeth, Red Velvet (which transferred to New York and later to the Garrick Theatre as part of the Kenneth Branagh Season) and Handbagged (winner of Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre – also West End, UK tour and Washington DC). Other productions for Kiln Theatre include The Invisible Hand, A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes, Multitudes, The House That Will Not Stand, Paper Dolls, Women, Power and Politics, Stones in His Pockets, Detaining Justice, The Great Game: Afghanistan, Fabulation and Starstruck. Other theatre credits include Ugly Lies the Bone, The Motherf**cker with the Hat (Evening StandardAward for Best Play), The Waiting Room (all National Theatre), The Ramayana (National Theatre/ Birmingham Rep), Belong, Disconnect, Free Outgoing, Lift Off, Clubland, The Crutch and Sugar Mummies (Royal Court), Ruined (Almeida), Yellowman and Anna in the Tropics (Hampstead Theatre), Secret Rapture and The Misanthrope (Minerva, Chichester), Romeo andJuliet (Chichester Festival Theatre ), Pure Gold (Soho Theatre), The No Boys Cricket Club and Party Girls (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Wuthering Heights (Birmingham REP), Heartbreak House (Watford Palace Theatre), Sugar Dollies and Shakuntala (Gate Theatre), A River Sutra (Three Mill Island Studios), Rhinoceros (UC Davis, California) and A Doll’s House (YoungVic). Her production of The Great Wave is currently running at the National Theatre in a co-production with Kiln Theatre.