Matthew Beard, Louisa Harland and Jonathan Slinger are among the eleven performers cast in Three and a Bit, the world premiere of new plays by Caryl Churchill at the Almeida Theatre this winter.
Matthew Beard, who was in Churchill's Triumph at the Islington house in the autumn, goes straight back to the Almeida Theatre for Three and a Bit, a set of brand-new Churchill plays performed together in one evening. Alongside Beard are Lucy Black, Seamus Dillane, Louisa Harland, Lola Jenkins, Tom Kanji, Assa Kanouté, Bill Milner and Jonathan Slinger, while Edward Butler and Artie Wilkinson-Hunt take turns in the production's child role.
Several of the company come with a Churchill connection or a notable recent credit. Lucy Black, whose National Theatre work includes Top Girls, now meets the playwright in a premiere rather than a revival. Jonathan Slinger counts Waiting for Godot at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and Juniper Blood at the Donmar Warehouse among his stage credits, and Louisa Harland, known on screen from Derry Girls, has appeared in Dancing at Lughnasa at the National.
There are newer faces too. Assa Kanouté picked up a nomination at The Stage Debut Awards for Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare's Globe, Artie Wilkinson-Hunt won the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Child Performance in The Land of the Living at the National Theatre, and Lola Jenkins, whose screen work includes The Emperor's Stone, makes her professional stage debut.
The Almeida is keeping the plays themselves close to its chest. Its teaser copy offers only questions, among them "Has Dex met a conjuror with something up his sleeve — or someone much worse?" and "What did Pete do to afford a second-hand robot?", before signing off on "a day that can only get better".
James Macdonald, who also staged Triumph, directs. He works with set designer Miriam Buether, costume designer Evie Gurney, lighting designer Paule Constable and sound designer Christopher Shutt, with illusions by Chris Fisher. Casting is by Amy Ball CDG, Hazel Holder is voice coach and Marlie Haco is assistant director, with Sabia Smith as costume supervisor and Laura Flowers as props supervisor.
The production opens Dominic Cooke's first season as the Almeida's artistic director, announced in October.
Three and a Bit runs at the Almeida Theatre, Almeida Street, from Thursday 14 January to Saturday 13 March 2027, with press night on Thursday 21 January 2027 at 7pm. Evening performances start at 7.30pm and matinees at 2pm. There is a BSL-interpreted performance on Monday 8 February 2027 at 7.30pm, a captioned performance on Friday 12 February at 7.30pm, an audio-described matinee on Saturday 20 February at 2pm with a touch tour at 12pm, and relaxed performances on Wednesday 24 February at 2pm and 7.30pm.
