It’s really, really happening: after a decade of fevered speculation, a return announcement early in the pandemic, and a further delay due to the third lockdown… the original production of the greatest play of the twenty-first century is now confirmed to return, albeit a year later than intended.
Mark Rylance and Mackenzie Crook will reprise their performances as Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron and Ginger in the return of the original production of Jez Butterworth’s ‘Jerusalem’, which will run for 16 weeks only from next April – 13 years after it premiered at the Royal Court, and just over a decade since it was last seen in the West End.
The play is an anarchic comedy about the decline of England’s wildness, and follows a group of unruly scallies under the shamanic influence of Byron. Whether the writing still stands up – and how differently it lands after Brexit – has already been the subject of much speculation. But there’s little question that Rylance’s performance is one of the greatest of all time: hilarious, tragic, prodigiously acrobatic, and with the most astonishing final speech of the modern era.
Last time it played in London, people were queuing up for 36 hours to bag the final day-seats, so expect demand to be seismic this time: the official on sale date is August 16, but you’d do well to sign up for the pre-sale which kicks off August 9 if you sign up promptly. Playing in a medium-size theatre, with Rylance now an Oscar-winner, it’s basically a license to print money, but producer Sonia Friedman is setting aside 800 £15 tickets a week.
With Rylance both in demand and probably towards the end of the age where he can play such a physically demanding role, this is almost certainly your final chance to see the original production and that’s maybe not a bad thing: to really go down as a classic, a play needs to move beyond a single performance and production. But when Rylance has performed his last performance as Byron, there’s no denying something magical will have passed - you do not want to miss this. Come, you giants!
‘Jerusalem’ is at the Apollo Theatre, April 16 to August 6 2021
Sign up for the presale at www.jerusalemtheplay.co.uk
The best theatre to book for in 2021
0 Comments