Taylor Russell, star of the films Bones and All and Waves, will play Cordelia opposite Ian McKellen in Lear at the Yard Theatre, which has added seven festive performances to the sold-out run.
Taylor Russell joins the company of Lear as Cordelia, the daughter who refuses to flatter her father, with Ian McKellen in the title role at the Yard Theatre in Hackney Wick. It is her second London stage role, after a debut in Jamie Lloyd's revival of The Effect at the National Theatre, which later transferred to The Shed in New York.
This is not a conventional revival. Simon Stephens and Jay Miller, the Yard's founder and artistic director, have co-written a new play that sets Shakespeare's lines alongside the conversations McKellen and Miller recorded while they were making it. Miller directs. McKellen has appeared in King Lear 708 times over his career, and the piece turns on endings, on refusing to stop and on what remains when you finally do. McKellen and Stephens have another collaboration on the way, the mixed reality play An Ark at Aviva Studios in Manchester.
The production plays from 17 November 2026 - 2 January 2027 as part of the opening season in the Yard's rebuilt Hackney Wick home, with press night on Tuesday 1 December. The original allocation was gone in under half an hour, so these extra dates have been added:
- Saturday 12 December: 2:30pm
- Thursday 24 December (Christmas Eve): 12:30pm and 4:30pm
- Saturday 26 December (Boxing Day): 2:30pm and 7:30pm
- Thursday 31 December (New Year's Eve): 7:30pm
- Friday 1 January (New Year's Day): 7:30pm
Booking for the new performances opens in three waves, each at noon: Yard Residents members on 3 November, Yard Regulars on 4 November, and everyone else on 5 November.
Two schools matinees have also been scheduled, on 9 and 16 December. Secondary schools in Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest get priority, tickets start from free, and schools can register their interest with the Yard's box office.
Miller said: "We are working with one of the greatest actors of an older generation, and we have the privilege of also working with one of the most exciting of a newer one. Taylor Russell is an extraordinary addition to our company, she is intuitive, sensitive and completely compelling to watch on stage."
Stephens added: "To sit in a church hall in East London while Ian McKellen finds the rage and beauty and humanity of Lear has been an experience I will always treasure. How many artists ever made their boldest experiments in their 80s? His poetic intelligence is matched only by his cheekiness. At a time when theatre can default towards the familiar because it brings a sense of safety, it is energising to be at The Yard with Ian and Jay Miller. The Yard is a beacon of boldness and, with that, of wonder."
Stewart Laing designs the set and costumes, with lighting by Zerlina Hughes, sound by Josh Anio Grigg, video by Sarah Readman and choreography by Malik Nashad Sharpe. Sophia Golan is assistant director and Heather Basten CDG is casting director, while Florence McGlynn supervises costumes. The production manager is Titch Gosling, the company stage manager Kim Battistini and the deputy stage manager Rhea Cosford.
For more information, visit the official website.
