Lucian Msamati plays Edward and Ama Qamata makes her UK stage debut as Matha in The Afronauts, Ryan Calais Cameron’s new play about Zambia’s bid for space in 1964, which opens at the Royal Court Theatre on 14 November.
Lucian Msamati, whose screen work includes Game of Thrones, Slow Horses and Conclave, heads the company of The Afronauts as Edward. The world premiere, presented by the Royal Court Theatre with Nica Burns, runs in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from Saturday 14 November to Saturday 19 December 2026 and closes the theatre’s 70th anniversary Downstairs season.
Ama Qamata, who has played leading roles in the Netflix series Blood & Water and the indie hit Fight Like a Girl, plays Matha in her first UK stage role. Ivanno Jeremiah, who played Sidney Poitier in Cameron’s Retrograde, reunites with the writer as Simon.
The rest of the company is Chomba S. Taulo (The Book of Mormon) as Ben, Munashe Chirisa (The Play That Goes Wrong) as Cheelo, Pamela Nomvete (Skeleton Crew) as Grace, Lukwesa Mwamba (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) as Liji and Prince Kundai (Bootycandy) as David.
Cameron co-directs with Monique Touko, whose productions include Jaja’s African Hair Braiding and Marie and Rosetta. The play is set in Zambia in 1964. While the superpowers race each other to the moon, a schoolteacher recruits a band of unlikely dreamers and trains them for launch. The Royal Court calls it the true(ish) story of the Zambian space programme, and its November opening was flagged when the Ryan Calais Cameron Season was announced earlier this month.
“The Afronauts is a love letter to the dreamers history forgot,” said Ryan Calais Cameron. “It’s about what happens when imagination becomes a form of resistance, and how the fight for freedom isn’t just political, it’s cosmic.”
Monique Touko added: “Ending the 70th season of the Royal Court, reframing and spotlighting this historic event is a huge honour.”
The design team is Soutra Gilmour (set), Kinnetia Isidore (costume), Ryan Day (lighting), Khalil Madovi (composition and sound), Dick Straker (video) and Cynthia De La Rosa (wigs, hair and make-up), with movement direction by Kloé Dean. Heather Basten CDG CSA is casting director, Gillian Greer dramaturg, Mwansa Phiri cultural dramaturg and Danielle Kassaraté assistant director.
The Genesis Foundation commissioned the play through its Genesis Next Generation programme at the Royal Court, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology supports the production. The company was first revealed on 29 September at a launch party the theatre hosted with The Rendition.
Standard tickets for The Afronauts at the Royal Court Theatre cost £15 to £74.50, and press night is at 7pm on Monday 23 November 2026. The audio-described matinee is at 1.30pm on Saturday 5 December, the captioned performance at 7.30pm on Tuesday 8 December, and the chilled performance at 1.30pm on Saturday 19 December.
