The first rehearsal images for Affluenza are out, and Donald Sage Mackay has joined Noah Schnapp and company ahead of previews from 26 September.
The first rehearsal images have been released for Affluenza, and with them the news that Donald Sage Mackay completes the cast of the world premiere at Riverside Studios. Previews begin on Saturday 26 September 2026, press night is Monday 5 October, and the limited engagement books to Saturday 21 November.
Mackay joins a company led by Noah Schnapp, of Stranger Things, making his stage debut. Janette Manrara, of Strictly Come Dancing, Rupert Young, seen in Bridgerton and Dear Evan Hansen, Juliet Cowan and Wallis Currie-Wood complete the six. Mackay’s own stage work includes Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink at Hampstead Theatre and Girl From the North Country in the West End.
The play is written and directed by Andy Sandberg. A teenager’s drunken drive ends in devastation, and the case turns on a single question: can someone be too affluent to know right from wrong? Sandberg took the premise from a real legal defence, and sets it among the very rich in the Hamptons, following the damage outwards through a family rather than stopping at the verdict.
“We are having a blast in rehearsals, and this cast is truly incredible,” Sandberg said. “I can’t wait for audiences to see this brilliant company in Affluenza.”
The creative team has set design by Charlie Corcoran, costume design and associate set design by Hannah Schmidt, lighting by Jack Weir, sound by Emily Drohan and original music by Will Van Dyke. Nicholas Hockaday is casting director, with Cecilie Fray as associate director, Florence Carr-Jones as assistant director and additional material by Scott Elmegreen.
Affluenza opens the Mainstage Season 26/27 at Riverside Studios, five new plays each running eight weeks, all directed by Sandberg as season artistic director. It is followed by Sacrilegious, by Tom Schulman, who wrote Dead Poets Society, from 5 December to 23 January 2027, and then Expecting, by Scott Elmegreen and Drew Fornarola, from 30 January to 27 March 2027.
Affluenza runs at Riverside Studios from 26 September to 21 November 2026. Performances are Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm with Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm, and there is a captioned performance on Saturday 14 November at 2.30pm. Tickets start at £25.
