Star Wars Standout John Boyega & More Join Old Vic's Upcoming Season

Here's one way to celebrate May the Fourth! John Boyega will take the stage as part of the Old Vic’s 2016-2017 season. The Star Wars: The Force Awakens favorite will headline a new adaptation of Georg Büchner’s Woyzeck, adapted by Harry Potter and the Cursed Child co-scribe Jack Thorne. As previously announced, also on board for the London venue is a production of King Lear starring Glenda Jackson.

The season kicks off on September 29 with the world premiere of No’s Knife by the late Samuel Beckett. Lisa Dwan will star in the one-woman presentation. Opening night is set for October 3. This will be followed by King Lear, directed by Deborah Warner. The production will star Oscar winner Jackson and Harry Melling, along with Jane Horrocks and Rhys Ifans and Simon Manyonda. Shakespeare’s tragedy will begin previews on October 25 and open on November 4.

As initially reported during the announcement of artistic director Matthew Warchus’ inaugural season, the new season will also include Yasmina Reza’s Art, translated by Christopher Hampton. Warchus directs the revival, which starts on December 10 and opens on January 3, 2017. The Boyega-led Woyzeck, directed by Joe Murphy, will begin previews on February 25; opening night is set for March 7.

Also on tap for 2017 and future seasons are a 50th anniversary production of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, which premiered at the Old Vic in 1967, the return of Dr. Seuss’’s The Lorax, a Stephen Beresford adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander and a new version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore by Nigel Hess and Christopher Luscombe.

The Old Vic's current season concludes this summer with the premiere of the Broadway-bound Groundhog Day, penned by Tim Minchin and Danny Rubin. The production, starring Andy Karl and Carlyss Peer, will begin on July 11.