Lisa Palfrey, Sharon Morgan and Ifan Huw Dafydd are among the seven actors cast in Monument, the world premiere by Rhys Warrington that brings the Royal Court’s 70th anniversary year to a close this December.
Lisa Palfrey, who played Big Mama in the West End revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof alongside Jack O’Connell and Sienna Miller, is one of seven actors confirmed for Monument. The new play by Rhys Warrington runs in the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from Thursday 3 December 2026 to Saturday 23 January 2027.
She is joined by Crystal Condie, Ifan Huw Dafydd, Joshua Griffin, Anna Lundberg, Sharon Morgan and Gwydion Rhys. Condie arrives from the National Theatre, where her credits include London Tide and Dear England. Morgan has won the BAFTA Cymru award for best actress three times, most recently for Resistance in 2012. Griffin most recently played Ferdinand in The Tempest at the Globe’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, and Dafydd’s stage work includes Under Milk Wood at the National and Trouble in Butetown at the Donmar Warehouse.
The play is set among a Welsh farming community still reeling from a tragedy. Its members meet in the village hall, under international scrutiny, to argue over plans for a memorial, and the audience sits in the hall with them. Those watching are asked to vote, and the result decides which of two endings is performed that night.
Francesca Goodridge, artistic director of Sherman Theatre, directs the production, which the Cardiff theatre co-produces with the Royal Court. Cai Dyfan is the designer, Ryan Joseph Stafford designs the lighting, and Nicola T. Chang is both sound designer and composer. Saffeya Shebli is the Royal Court’s casting director for the show, and Amy Trigg is costume supervisor.
This is Warrington’s first production at the Royal Court. Monument was given an early sharing at the theatre’s first Open Submissions Festival in 2025, and the festival has since returned with five new plays this autumn. Warrington holds the second Davidson PlayGC Bursary, backed by PlayGC Theatre Company and the Alan Davidson Foundation, and the production has support from the Colwinston Charitable Trust.
Warrington said: “I’m bouncing off the walls with excitement to be working with this absolute dynamite cast. These characters have lived in my head for such a long time, so to have assembled such exceptional Welsh, English and International artists to finally bring them alive is an incredible honour. I can’t wait to get going and, more importantly, for audiences to finally meet them.”
Goodridge added: “I’m beyond thrilled to be stepping into the rehearsal room with this incredible group of actors. To finally hear Rhys’s words jump off the page and come to life through artists with this level of skill and instinct is a director’s dream. They’re such a talented, generous group of performers, add to that a cracking creative team, and I really feel we’ve got something very special on our hands.”
Press night is Wednesday 9 December 2026 at 7pm, and a post-show talk follows the performance on Tuesday 15 December 2026. Captioned performances are on Thursday 7 January 2027 at 3pm (also an Age UK performance) and 7.45pm, with a Babes in Arms matinee on Thursday 14 January 2027 at 3pm and a Chilled performance on Saturday 16 January 2027 at 2pm. After London, the production transfers to Sherman Theatre in Cardiff from Friday 29 January to Saturday 13 February 2027.
Standard tickets for Monument at the Royal Court Theatre cost £15-£30, with access tickets at £19 and a companion admitted at the same rate.
