Saving the earth is a filthy business…
Kyoto, the ‘truly remarkable’ (WhatsOnStage) new political thriller transfers to London’s West End in 2025. Brought to you by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Good Chance, fresh from a critically acclaimed run in Stratford-upon-Avon, this ‘tense and gripping’ (Guardian) show brings a world of hope to @sohoplace for a strictly limited 16-week season from 9 January 2025.
Welcome to the Kyoto Conference Centre, 11 December 1997. The nations of the world are in deadlock and 11 hours have passed since the UN’s landmark climate conference should have ended. Time is running out and agreement feels a world away. The greatest obstacle: American oil lobbyist and master strategist, Don Pearlman…
Featuring a ‘barnstorming performance’ (Financial Times) from Stephen Kunken, Kyoto sees Olivier award-winning directors Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin (Stranger Things: The First Shadow) reunite with Good Chance’s Artistic Directors and playwrights Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson (The Jungle), for this sharp, searing and darkly comic story of the moment all nations tried to set aside their differences for the sake of the planet.
Tony award-nominated actor Stephen Kunken (The Handmaid’s Tale, Billions, Wolf of Wall Street) will reprise his celebrated role as American oil lobbyist and master strategist, Don Pearlman. Also returning to the cast are Jenna Augen (Shirley), Olivia Barrowclough (Secretariat), Jorge Bosch (Raúl Estrada-Oyuela), Nancy Crane (USA), Andrea Gatchalian (Kiribati), Togo Igawa (Japan), Kwong Loke (China), Dale Rapley (Bolin, Santer, Gore), Raad Rawi (Saudi Arabia) and Ferdy Roberts (UK, Houghton).
Joining them will be new cast members announced today Kristin Atherton (Germany), Karen Barredo (Off-Stage Cover), Jeffrey Chekai (Off-Stage Cover), Mark Hammersley (Off-Stage Cover), Moe Idris (Off-Stage Cover), Aïcha Kossoko (Tanzania), Sibylla Meienberg (Off-Stage Cover) and Duncan Wisbey (Fred Singer).
World renowned Climate Scientist Ben Santer, whose research was instrumental to the Kyoto agreement, commented on the theatre production: ‘I hope Kyoto reaches audiences I could never dream of reaching through all the scientific papers I’ve ever written. And I hope it provides us with what mathematicians call an existence principle—proof that something difficult is possible. The existence principle in Kyoto is that humanity can come together and solve a seemingly intractable problem.’
Hailed as ‘rich and vital’ (The i) and ‘sheer theatrical magic’ (WhatsOnStage), Kyoto seats you at the heart of the action, and shows that even in a climate of rapidly rising temperatures, the impossible really can become possible.
Listings
Date: 9th January - 3rd May 2025
Venue: @sohoplace, 4 Soho Place, Charing Cross road, W1D 3BG
Tickets From: £25; Running Time: Approx 2hrs 45mins including a 20min interval