Actress Kathryn Hunter, director Walter Meierjohann, and playwright and screenwriter Colin Teevan reunite following their hit Kafka’s Monkey for a world première production that comes to HOME in Manchester in September.
Master of transformation Hunter brings to life a fable of corruption, avarice and the collapse of power in The Emperor based on Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński’s 1978 account of the fall of Haile Selassie, who ruled Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974.
In this co-production between HOME, London’s Young Vic, and Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Hunter creates a cast of characters, servants to a despotic ruler on the brink of downfall.
In a kingdom obsessed with title and tradition, the lowly and the loyal have incredible stories to tell, and Hunter tells them all.
Adapted by Teevan and directed by Meierjohann, HOME’s artistic director for theatre, The Emperor reunites the team behind Kafka’s Monkey, which played to sell-out houses at the Manchester venue last year, and features live music.
It runs from September 28 to October 8.