On Friday the National Theatre announced its commitment to begin creating new work again, with plans to resume socially-distanced live performances in the Olivier Theatre in late October. A new one-person play, DEATH OF ENGLAND: DELROY, by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams, will be directed by Dyer, and performed by Giles Terera.This follows on from Dyer and Williams’ play Death of England, which Dyer also directed, and was performed by Rafe Spall in the Dorfman Theatre, closing a few weeks before lockdown.
The new play was commissioned by the NT’s New Work Department at the start of lockdown and written over the subsequent five months. It explores a different side of the Death of England story as it focuses on the character of Delroy, the best friend of Michael, the protagonist of the first piece.
Marketing material for the production reads 'London, 2020. Delroy is arrested on his way to the hospital. Filled with anger and grief, he recalls the moments and relationships that gave him hope before his life was irrevocably changed. This new work explores a Black working-class man searching for truth and confronting his relationship with Great Britain.'
The government confirmed on Friday that indoor, socially-distanced performances could resume from the following day, some two weeks later than originally planned. Death of England: Delroy will begin performances in late October. Tickets will go on sale in September, when full details of the performance schedule, ticketing, and safety measures for audiences will also be available.
Speaking about the play Clint Dyer and Roy Williams said: 'There’s a moment in Death of England at his father’s funeral where Michael tells Delroy, ‘you may act like us and talk like us, but you will never be one of us’. In telling Delroy’s story, we hope to take audiences on an illuminating journey into the Black British psyche and realities of a ‘tolerant’ England in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.'
Rufus Norris, Director of the National Theatre said: 'This week Death of England: Delroywill have its first workshop as we finally, carefully open the doors of the theatre to artists and put in place plans to start live performance again this Autumn. Clint Dyer and Roy Williams have delivered another explosive piece of work; set during lockdown and charting its own fearless and provocative course through the same subjects as its prequel, and a very English reflection of the Black Lives Matter movement. It is so important for us to be welcoming artists back into the building again, and planning for doing the same for our much-missed audiences. The moment the incomparable Giles Terera steps out on the Olivier stage at that first performance will be an incredible one, and I’m thrilled to be reopening our theatre with such an important and timely piece of work.'
Set and costume designers are Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey and ULTZ, with lighting design by Jackie Shemesh, sound design by Pete Malkin and Ben Grant.