Lincoln Center Theater has announced the complete cast and creative team for the United States Premiere of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Good Chance production of the 2025 Olivier Award-nominated play KYOTO.
The production will play the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater beginning performances on October 8th, with an official opening night set for November 3rd.
KYOTO will be directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin (The Jungle; Stranger Things: The First Shadow). It is presented by arrangement with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Good Chance, Rachel Styne & Jessica Foung.
Joining the previously announced Tony Award nominee Stephen Kunken, reprising his celebrated role as American lawyer and ex-government strategist ‘Don Pearlman,’ KYOTO will also star Jorge Bosch, reprising his Olivier Award-nominated role as Argentinian lawyer and conference leader ‘Raul Estrada-Oyuela,’ Peter Bradbury as climate change skeptic ‘Fred Singer,’ Kate Burton as ‘USA,’ Feodor Chin as ‘China,’ Erin Darke as ‘Germany,’ Natalie Gold as ‘Shirley,’ Daniel Jenkins as ‘Gore/Bolin/Santer/Observer,’ Dariush Kashani as ‘Saudi Arabia,’ Rob Narita as ‘Japan,’ Imani Jade Powers as ‘Secretariat,’ Ferdy Roberts reprising his role as ‘U.K./Prescott/Houghton,’ Roslyn Ruff as ‘Tanzania,’ and Taiana Tully as ‘Kiribati.’ Offstage understudies include Odera Adimorah, Zoe Cipres, Luis Carlos de La Lombana, and Paul Juhn.
Direct from critically acclaimed, sold-out productions in Stratford-upon-Avon and London’s West End, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Good Chance production of KYOTO, written by Good Chance Theatre Artistic Directors and playwrights Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson (authors of The Jungle, which premiered at the Young Vic, London, and went on to runs in the West End, Off-Broadway and San Francisco, after sold out runs), is a sharp, searing political thriller dramatizing the moment all nations tried to set aside their differences for the sake of the earth.
Saving the Earth is a filthy business. Welcome to the Kyoto Conference Centre, December 11, 1997. The nations of the world are in deadlock. Time is running out and a climate change agreement feels a world away. The greatest obstacle: American oil lobbyist and master strategist, Don Pearlman… Declared “gripping” (The Times), “extraordinarily funny” (Variety), and a “genuinely daring” (Evening Standard) “triumph” (Telegraph), KYOTO asks who gets to decide what’s worth saving when the entire planet is at risk—and what we’re willing to give up so we can move forward, together.
“At Lincoln Center Theater, we believe theater is where we wrestle with the questions of our time – with rigor, with imagination, and with heart. KYOTO is a play that does just that, continuing in the tradition of plays that bring the global stage and the complexities of the world to LCT audiences,” said Kewsong Lee Artistic Director Lear deBessonet.
Playwrights and Good Chance Co-Artistic Directors Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson said, “KYOTO tells the story of how the world overcame deep, intractable differences to reach the first unanimous, binding agreement on climate change. Although this might sound like a fairytale, for us it’s a story which speaks thrillingly, directly – and with hope – to our disjointed times. We are honored to be presenting the play as part of Lear deBessonet’s inaugural season at Lincoln Center Theater, and for audiences to join us for a seat at the table here in New York City.”
Royal Shakespeare Company Co-Artistic Directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey said, “As Co-Artistic Directors of the RSC, our guiding principle has always been to seek out the most exciting artists to create work that helps deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Today, as the unshakeable reality of the global climate crisis looms large over COP30, KYOTO’s message of hope against seemingly insurmountable odds is a compelling demonstration of theatre’s unique power to thrill, entertain and inspire. Through collaborating with brilliant storytellers, we – like those early negotiators – can help change our world for the better.”
The creative team for KYOTO includes Miriam Buether (set design), Natalie Pryce (costume design), Aideen Malone (lighting design), Christopher Reid (sound design), Akhila Krishnan (video design), Paul Englishby (original music), Jim Carnahan, CSA and Alexandre Bleau, CSA (casting), Diana DiVita (stage manager), Ed Burnside (associate director), Julia Horan (original UK casting director) and Gemma Stockwood (Dramaturg).
AloJapan.com