Benedict Lombe's 'Shifters' to open off Broadway

The young love story follows Dre and Des, as they come crashing back into each other’s lives after a period of separation, carrying new secrets and old scars.

Summary

• Shifters is making its North American premiere at the Cherry Lane Theatre this summer
• Heather Agyepong reprises her performance as Des following the West End run in 2024
• Lynette Linton directs

Benedict Lombe's Shifters will make its North American premiere at Off-Broadway venue the Cherry Lane Theatre this summer. Performances will run from July 6 to August 30, with opening night set for July 15.

The play transfers to New York following a run at Off-West End venue the Bush Theatre and in the West End in 2024. The young love story follows Dre and Des, as they come crashing back into each other’s lives after a period of separation, carrying new secrets and old scars.

Heather Agyepong (The Power, School Girls; or The African Mean Girls Play), who received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in the original production, will reprise her role as Des. She is joined by Daniel Ezra (All American, The Running Man) as Dre. The production is directed by BAFTA nominee Lynette Linton (The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Not Your Superwoman).

In a review for LondonTheatre.co.uk, the critic said: "Told in a deliberately freeform style that allows past and present to shift seamlessly, the play has a fluid, dreamlike structure as befits its male character, Dre (Tosin Cole) – his name a shortened version of Dream. We follow the varying affections between him and Des, short for Destiny, who is played by the luminous Heather Agyepong."

On the transfer, Lombe said: “When I was invited to write a Black British love story for the stage by our director Lynette Linton, I thought a lot about the existing canon in this genre. Who gets to be viewed and celebrated as a romantic lead? Whose cultures and histories are brought into focus? Who gets to be audacious? Who gets to be complex and flawed and funny and intelligent and joyful and fully human? Shifters was born from this intentionality and specificity – a universal love story between a British Congolese woman and a British Nigerian man – that demanded nothing less than to shift the theatrical canon. Both onstage and offstage.

"We've journeyed from West London to the West End. And as we now make our way to the West Village, I'm so thrilled to be bringing the love story of Des and Dre to Cherry Lane Theatre – the most audacious theatre in town. See you there.”

Linton added: “We made Shifters because we wanted to see and celebrate Black British love on stage. We made Shifters because we wanted to take up space. Bringing this show to Cherry Lane, all the way to New York, means the show is taking up more space than we could have imagined. Come we go! Benedict writes dialogue and romance in a way that no one else can, and it is my privilege to get to direct her words again. We can’t wait to share this romantic, epic, timeless story with new audiences. I hope you are all ready for Des and Dre.”

Check back for Shifters tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Photo credit: Heather Agyepong and Daniel Ezra. (Photos by David Reiss and Dalvin Adams)