Shifters (play)
| Shifters | |
|---|---|
 2026 Off-Broadway production poster | |
| Original language | English |
| Written by | Benedict Lombe |
| Characters | Des Dre |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 23 February 2024 |
| Place | Bush Theatre |
Shifters is a 2024 play by Congolese-British playwright Benedict Lombe which follows the complications of a love story of a young Black couple, Dre and Des, reconnecting after years apart. The production premiered at the Off-West End Bush Theatre in 2024,[1] before transferring to the West End the same year at the Duke of York's Theatre.[2] Shifters was the third ever play written by a Black British woman to be staged at the West End,[3] after Nine Night by Natasha Gordon (Trafalgar Studios, 2018) and J'ouvert by Yasmin Joseph (Harold Pinter Theatre, 2021).[4]
Shifters was premiered in the US Off-Broadway in July 2026 at the Cherry Lane Theatre.[5]
Plot
The play follows the years-long love story between Dre and Des (short for Destiny), who first met at high school in South London and brought together by the school's debating club.[6] Des is British-Congolese and comes from a middle-class family (her father working as a neurologist) while Dre, who is British-Nigerian, comes from a less well off background, living with his grandmother[7] while his estranged mother lives in Nigeria.[8] Des goes on to become a conceptual artist based in America while Dre remains in England, working as a restauranteur.[9] Over a decade later, the two protagonists reconnect at Dre's grandmother's funeral back in England, bringing up sparks of the past and thoughts of the future.[10][5]
Production history
2024 Off-West End premiere
.jpg)
The play first premiered Off-West End at the Bush Theatre in London in 2024, running from 16 February to 30 March 2024. Directed by Lynette Linton, the production starred Heather Agyepong as Des and Tosin Cole as Dre.[11][12] The Guardian praised the production, giving it four stars and lauding the show's "real heart, soul and the everyday tragedy of long-lost first loves."[6] Similarly, London Theatre praised the cast's performances as "simply irresistible" and the play's "fluid, dreamlike structure."[13]
2024 West End transfer
Following positive reception, the production was announced to transfer to the West End at the Duke of York's Theatre, running from 12 August to 12 October 2024. This made Lombe the third ever Black British woman to have a play staged in the West End.[3] According to the Guardian, the playwright herself was in disbelief about this statistics and called for "a reckoning for producers in the West End, for them to realise there are so many stories not being told in those spaces".[4]
Both Agyepong and Cole reprised their role, with Linton also returning to direct.[2] The play again received positive reviews, with Salterton Arts Review calling the show "witty, real, and memorable"[14] and Forbes praised it as a "refreshing rollercoaster of a romance."[15] The production was nominated for the 2025 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play and 2025 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress (Heather Agyepong). Lombe would be the first Black British woman nomination in this category.[16]
2026 Off-Broadway production
The play is set to make its North American premiere Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre in July 2026, directed by Linton and again starring Apyepong with Daniel Ezra taking over the role of Dre. Linton also returned to direct this production, which began on 15 July and is set to run until 30 August 2026.[17]
Cast and characters
| Character | Off-West End[6] | West End[2] | Off-Broadway[17] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2024 | 2026 | |
| Des | Heather Agyepong | ||
| Dre | Tosin Cole | Daniel Ezra | |
Awards and nominations
2024 West End production
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best New Play | Nominated | [16] | |
| Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress | Heather Agyepong | Nominated | |||
| Offie | Creation | Benedict Lombe | Won | [18] | |
| The Stage Debut Awards | Best Creative West End Debut | Nominated | [19] | ||
References
- ↑ "Shifters". Playbill. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 Hall, Margaret (12 August 2024). "Benedict Lombe's Shifters Begins in London August 12". Playbill. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- 1 2 Rufo, Yasmin (22 August 2024). "Idris Elba: I know what heartbreak feels like". BBC News. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
- 1 2 Bakare, Lanre (20 June 2024). "'We needed this': UK audiences thirsty for black British love stories, says playwright". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
- 1 2 "Shifters". Cherry Lane Theatre. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 Akbar, Arifa (25 February 2024). "Shifters review – drama of first love lost has giddy kisses and real heart". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ↑ Levitt, Hayley (16 July 2026). "Review: In Shifters, Piecing Together a First Great Love". TheaterMania. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
- ↑ Saville, Alice (22 August 2024). "Epic new romcom Shifters has West End audiences swooning – review". The Independent. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
- ↑ Curtis, Nick (26 February 2024). "Shifters at the Bush: an almost perfect bittersweet rom-com". The Standard. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
- ↑ Antigha, Jacob (21 October 2024). "Shifters Review: A story of soulmates and the complications of love". Medium. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ↑ Masso, Giverny (11 September 2023). "Tosin Cole to star in Benedict Lombe's Shifters in Bush Theatre season". The Stage. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ↑ "Shifters". Playbill. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ↑ Wolf, Matt (23 February 2024). "Shifters review – Benedict Lombe's sublime romance transfers to the West End". London Theatre. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ↑ "Review: Shifters, Duke of York's Theatre, London". Salterton Arts Review. 26 August 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ↑ Sharrock, Lee (31 August 2024). "West End Debut Of 'Shifters' Destined To Shift Perceptions On Romance And Youth". Forbes. Archived from the original on 19 November 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- 1 2 Higgins, Molly (6 April 2025). "Giant, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Win Big at 2025 Olivier Awards; Read the Full List Here". Playbill. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- 1 2 Stewart, Zachary (8 May 2026). "Benedict Lombe's Shifters to Play Cherry Lane Theatre". TheaterMania. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ↑ "OffWestEnd (Offies) Awards 2025 Winners announced in London | West End Theatre". www.westendtheatre.com. 17 March 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
- ↑ Raven, Paul (28 September 2025). "The Stage Debut Awards 2025 winners announced including Rachel Zegler for Evita". West End Theatre. Retrieved 3 March 2026.