The revival of David Hare’s play will be presented at The Vaults from the 13th September.

This first London revival of the play since its premiere at the National Theatre in 2004 is set to be directed by Alexander Lass, nominated for Best Director at the 2017 Stage Debut awards for 46 Beacon at Trafalgar Studios 2, and whose other credits include Associate Director on Shakespeare in Love at the Theatre Royal Bath and on tour, and on No Man’s Land in
the West End.

Revelatory, witty, and moving, The Permanent Way is an astonishing interrogation of the chaos arising from the botched privatisation of Britain’s railways. Told through the first-hand accounts of those involved at every level, from passengers to Civil Service mandarins, this extraordinary verbatim piece asks challenging questions of responsibility and governmental mismanagement. Have we learned anything from recent history?

Talking about the play’s revival, David Hare commented: “I had hoped my 2003 play would become outdated. But the latest Independent review in 2019 proves the truth of what the play argued over 15 years ago: that the state of the railways is a whacking great distressing metaphor for just how badly the British were governed, and how even more hopelessly badly they’re governed today.”

The cast for the production is set to include: Anna Acton, Jonathan Coote, Paul Dodds, Jacqui Dubois, Lucas Hare, Gabrielle Lloyd, Tej Obano, Sakuntala Ramanee and Jonathan Tafler.

Meanwhile, the production’s creative team includes set and costume design by Ruth Hall, lighting design by Rick Fisher, sound design by Roly Witherow and movement direction by Siân Williams.

The Permanent Way will play at The Vaults from the 13th September until the 17th November.