Emma Donoghue's Room Stage Adaptation Announces U.K. Casting

Casting is set for the stage version of Emma Donoghue's novel Room, set to play Theatre Royal Stratford East beginning May 2. The production's limited run will go through June 3, followed by mountings at Dundee Rep (June 13-17) and Dublin's Abbey Theatre (June 24-July 22).

Kidnapped as a teenage girl, Ma has been locked inside a purpose-built room in her captor’s garden for seven years. Her five-year-old son, Jack, has no concept of the world outside and happily exists inside Room with the help of Ma’s games and his vivid imagination where objects like Rug, Lamp and TV are his only friends. But for Ma the time has come to escape and face their biggest challenge to date: the world outside Room.

The cast will feature Stephen Casey (Mametz) as Grandpa/Doctor, Fela Lufadeju (The Importance of Being Earnest) as Big Jack, Liam McKenna (Flowering Cherry) as Old Nick, Lucy Tregear (The Middlemarch Trilogy) as Grandma and Witney White (Dusty) as Ma. The role of Little Jack will be shared by Darmani Eboji, Taye Kassim Junaid-Evans and Harrison Wilding.

Previously adapted by Donoghue for the screen, her stage adaptation will feature songs by Kathryn Joseph and Cora Bissett. Bissett directs with Ellen Havard as associate director. The design team includes Lily Arnold (designer), Andrzej Goulding (projection designer), David Plater (lighting designer), Gavin Whitworth (music director), Alexandra Faye Braithwaite (sound designer) and David Cauchi (puppet designer).