REHEARSAL SHOTS RELEASED FOR THE UK PREMIERE OF ANNA ZIEGLER’S ACCLAIMED PLAY THE WANDERERS

 MARYLEBONE THEATRE

FRIDAY 17 OCTOBER- SATURDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2025

 In a writer's studio, reality and fiction collide. A mysterious email from a Hollywood star. A marriage tested. A story within a story. But who is really writing whom?

Full casting has been announced for the highly anticipated UK premiere of The Wanderers, written by revered U.S. playwright Anna Ziegler and directed by Igor Golyak, following a sold-out, critically acclaimed Off-Broadway run in New York.  Inspired by real events, the show will run at the Marylebone Theatre from 17 October until 29 November, with a national press night on 22 October.

The Wanderers

As previously announced, Anna Popplewell (The Chronicles of Narnia, Halo, The Nun 2) will star as ‘Julia’, alongside Katerina Tannenbaum (Netflix’s AJ and the Queen, HBO’s And Just Like That, Gossip Girl, Better Call Saul) as 'Esther' and Paksie Vernon (Casualty, Eve, People Places and Things at Trafalgar Studios) as ‘Sophie’.

Now joining them will be Alexander Forsyth (Casualty, The Man Who Knew Infinity) who will feature as ‘Abe’ and Eddie Toll (World War Z, The Little Stranger, Casualty) as ‘Schmuli’.

Abe is a prizewinning novelist, attempting to capture his parents' untold history whilst his own life unravels. When famous actress Julia Cheever begins writing to him, their electric correspondence blurs the boundaries between imagination and betrayal, between the stories we create and the ones that create us.

As Abe's parents, Schmuli and Esther materialise from his pages - young, passionate, caught between tradition and desire - we begin to question; are these memories or inventions? And whose hand truly holds the pen?

Can we ever escape the stories we've inherited, or do we dissolve into the fictions of those who love us most?

Award-winning director Igor Golyak, winner of four Off Broadway awards for Our Class, transforms Anna Ziegler's (Photograph 51, Actually) acclaimed play into a thrilling theatrical experience where nothing is quite as it seems.

The Wanderers was written by Anna Ziegler and will be directed by Igor Golyak, with set design by Jan Pappelbaum, costume design by Sasha Ageeva and lighting design by Alex Musgrave. The composer is Anna Drubich and sound design is by Julian Starr.  Lucy Casson is Casting Director with Harry Armytage, The Production Office as Production Manager.  General Manager is Alex Turner and Sarig Peker and Keren Misgav are producers.

Anna Ziegler commented:

“I’m thrilled that The Wanderers is making its London debut at Marylebone Theatre. The play is about connection – how fragile it can be, how surprising it can be – and I can’t think of a better, more culturally-diverse city to ask these questions in. I hope audiences here will find something of themselves in the characters’ struggles, as so many did in New York.”

Igor Golyak, also commented:

“Directing The Wanderers in London is an exciting new chapter for this play. Anna’s writing captures both the intimacy of private lives and the larger, more existential search for meaning. My aim is to bring those two scales together on stage – to create a production that feels both deeply personal and expansive, something audiences can carry with them long after they leave the theatre.”

The Wanderers is produced by Sarig Peker of Grapevine Shoot Productions & Keren Misgav of Norel Productions (www.norelproductions.co.uk)

Critical acclaim for previous productions of The Wanderers

 “The Wanderers is that rare play worth seeing twice, with a plot to ruminate on for a lifetime.” — Washington City Paper

 “This absorbing, twisty, and thoughtful play is the finest play of the year!…In addition to writing with searching depth, Ms. Ziegler can be quite funny…A play of superior quality.” – Charles Isherwood, The Wall Street Journal

 “A charming, penetrating, deeply moving new play—it sparkles.” – The New York Sun

 “The Wanderers lasts only 105 minutes, yet effectively and expertly holds enough storylines for a half dozen lesser plays.” – The Wrap

 “[Ziegler], an increasingly important writer, pulls off a high-wire act with her probing, admirably original world premiere play The Wanderers.” — San Diego Union Tribune

 “[Ziegler’s play is] thoughtful, compassionate, funny…The playwright deftly displays the barbed and tender sides of [the central characters’] relationship…But The Wanderers is about more than bittersweet relationships and coping with the past; it’s about the human tendency to be chronically dissatisfied. Confused and yearning, Esther wonders, “Who really understands whether or not they are happy?” — The Washington Post