The Doctor Who actor will be back on a London stage early next year
Matt Smith may be best known for his TV work, starring as the famous Doctor as well as the Duke of Edinburgh in The Crown and Daemon Targaryen in the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, but he has trod the boards in London a few times, most recently opposite Claire Foy in Lungs at the Old Vic in 2019. What he hasn’t properly done is a big West End production, which is what he’s taking on next year with the starring role in the first English-language version of Thomas Ostermeier’s production of Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People.
Ostermeier, along with Florian Borchmeyer, first adapted the play in German and staged it at the Schaubühne Berlin and then at the Barbican in 2014, but for its run at the Duke of York’s Theatre, it’s going to be done in English. Those original productions included audience participation, where theatregoers were asked to vote on the debate at the heart of the play – scientist Dr Thomas Stockmann finds that the healing waters at the public baths in his town are contaminated and he wants to alert people to this discovery but he faces opposition because the town depends on the baths for prosperity – so we’re intrigued to see how Smith takes this on.
Tickets go on pre-sale on 20th September, with general sale opening the following day, so sign up below to be first to get them.
Mon 26th February – Sat 6th April 2024
Duke of York’s Theatre, St Martin’s Ln, London WC2N 4BG
anenemyofthepeople.co.uk