Where and when?
The Lehman Trilogy will return to London’s West End, playing at the Gillian Lynne Theatre from 24 September 2024 until 5 January 2025 for a strictly limited run.
Who’s in the cast?
As previously announced, following a critically acclaimed run in San Francisco, John Heffernan, Aaron Krohn and Howard W. Overshown will reprise their ‘virtuosic performances’ (The Mercury News), playing the Lehman brothers, their sons and grandsons in this thrilling ‘tour de force of acting talent’ (KQED Radio). Cat Beveridge and Anyssa Neumann will reprise their respective performances as principal pianist and alternate pianist.
Joining them in this ‘mesmerising chronicle of an American dynasty’ (The Times), is Valentine Hanson as Understudy Emanuel Lehman, Leighton Pugh as Understudy Henry Lehman and Simon Victor will perform the role of Janitor and Understudy Mayer Lehman. Ali Berry completes the company as Understudy Pianist.
Creative team
Sam Mendes is joined by set designer, Es Devlin; costume designer, Katrina Lindsay; video designer, Luke Halls; lighting designer Jon Clark; composer and sound designer, Nick Powell; co-sound designer, Dominic Bilkey; music director, Candida Caldicot; movement director, Polly Bennett and West End Director, Rory McGregor. Company voice work is by Charmian Hoare with UK casting by Naomi Downham and USA casting by Jim Carnahan. They are joined by associate set designer, Olukoye Akinkugbe, associate video designer Zakk Hein and associate lighting designers, Charlotte Burton and Lucía Sánchez Roldán.
What’s the show about?
The Lehman Trilogy is a highly acclaimed three-act play written by Stefano Massini. It had been translated into 24 languages, originally opening at Comédie de Saint-Étienne in French in 2015 followed by an Italian translation at Piccolo Teatro, Milan in 2015. The English language translation was adapted by Ben Power and opened at the National Theatre in 2018 under the exemplary direction of Sam Mendes. Originally five hours long, Ben Power’s English translation comes in at just three hours and was a powerful hit with audiences and critics alike. The play soon transferred to the Park Avenue Armory, New York City in 2019 and was due to open on Broadway in 2020. Delayed by the pandemic, The Lehman Trilogy finally landed on Broadway in 2021, winning multiple Drama League Awards, Outer Critics Circle and Tony Awards for 2022 before moving to Los Angeles for a limited engagement. Having conquered the US, the celebrated National Theatre production is back in London this year opening at the Gillian Lynne Theatre for a limited season.
On a cold September morning in 1844, a young man from Bavaria stands on a New York dockside dreaming of a new life in the new world. He is joined by his two brothers, and an American epic begins. 163 years later, the firm they establish – Lehman Brothers – spectacularly collapses into bankruptcy, triggering the largest financial crisis in history. Weaving together nearly two centuries of family history, The Lehman Trilogy charts the humble beginnings, outrageous successes, and devastating failure of the financial institution that would ultimately bring the global economy to its knees.
In this return production, Sam Mendes directs Michael Balogun, Hadley Fraser and Nigel Lindsay as the Lehman brothers Emanuel, Mayer and Henry as they navigate this mammoth play. Playing their subsequent sons, grandsons and wives throughout the Lehman brothers 163 year history, they’re joined by pianist Yshani Perinpanayagam who underscores the action from an upright piano at the foot of the stage and occasionally becomes part of the story herself.
The vastness of the Lehman Brothers history is humanised through Michael Balogun, Hadley Fraser and Nigel Lindsay’s excellent performances. Switching characters with ease and often narrating their own stories in third person, Ben Power’s script is encompassing and fantastically descriptive as the actors move around Es Devlin’s modern New York office set using simple filling boxes to depict time, place and setting. From their unpresuming beginnings as Nigel Lindsay’s Henry “the head” Lehman, Michael Balogun’s Emanuel “the arm” Lehman and Hadley Fraser’s Mayer “the potato” Lehman through to last Lehman to own the company Bobbie Lehman’s tragic end; all three actors display superb skill in tackling each character with wit, humor and reverence.
This return production of The Lehman Trilogy is gorgeously theatrical as it accounts history in parallel to the Lehman Brothers story. We travel along with Emanuel, Mayer, Henry and their relatives through wars, technological breakthroughs and economic disasters as the play ultimately chronicles how American capitalism lost its way. Does the play need to be as long as it is? Probably not, however with richly drawn characters, sensational performances and gripping drama, The Leman Trilogy deserves the many accolades and awards its received and remains a tour de force that is still strickling relevant today.
★★★★ (2023) Reviewed by Stuart James
Assisted performances
Captioned Performances: Monday 28 October 7pm & Saturday 7 December 1pm
Audio Described Performances: Saturday 30 November 1pm & Friday 3 January 7pm
BSL Performances: Saturday 16th November 1pm
