Bristol Old Vic has released the first rehearsal pictures for Lanny, the stage premiere of Max Porter's Booker-nominated novel, adapted by Bea Roberts and directed by Nancy Medina. It opens on 16 October 2026.
The first pictures from the rehearsal room for Lanny arrived today, three weeks before the production meets an audience. Bristol Old Vic, in association with English Touring Theatre, stages the world premiere from 16 October to 7 November 2026, with press night on Thursday 22 October at 7pm.
It is the flagship production of the theatre's 260th year, and no theatre in the UK has run continuously for longer. Bea Roberts has adapted Max Porter's novel for the stage, and Nancy Medina, Bristol Old Vic's artistic director, directs. The theatre says the adaptation has been five years in the making.
Porter's book appeared in 2019 and was nominated for the Man Booker Prize. It plays out in a village a short way from Bristol, where a family newly arrived from the city find that their young son has drawn the attention of Dead Papa Toothwort, a mythic figure listening from the woods. The Guardian called the novel "a joyously stirred cauldron of words" and the Financial Times found it "magically beguiling".
The title role is shared by Atlas Johnson-Dutfield and Lucian Thomas, both making professional stage debuts. Hanora Kamen plays Jolie and Raj Bajaj plays Robert, with Richard Cant as Pete, Rupert Holliday Evans as The Lecturer and Amanda Lawrence as Peggy, the last two also taking other parts. Liam Bergin and Rose Wardlaw play multiple roles. Most of the company and the creative team come from Bristol and the wider South West.
Porter also wrote Grief is the Thing with Feathers. Roberts has written And Then Come the Nightjars, and Medina's directing credits include The Beautiful Future Is Coming, A Good House and Choir Boy.
Set and costume design is by Rebecca Jane Wood, with composition and musical direction by Dom Coyote and movement direction by Dan Canham. Zeynep Kepekli designs the lighting, and the sound is by Elena Peña and Dave Price. Izzy Bristow is puppetry consultant, Christopher Harrisson video designer and Ben Atterbury dramaturg.
Maddie Wakeling is assistant director and Divija Melally assistant movement director. Costume supervision is by Bristol Costume Services, casting by Arthur Carrington CDG and child casting by Ruby Gilmour, with Alice Nicholas as dramatherapist, Rebecca Daltry as voice and dialect coach, Lex Kaby as intimacy coordinator and Julian Arney as head chaperone.
Performances run at 7.30pm with selected matinees at 2.30pm, tickets start at £11 and the production is recommended for ages 13 and over. Bristol Old Vic is on King Street, Bristol BS1 4ED.
