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Wish You Were Here (UK Premiere)

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Book Tickets for Wish You Were Here

“When I Think About Where I’m From, I Think Of You”

Five friends, three weddings and endless inappropriate jokes. Amongst unibrows, forbidden music and shared wax strips, five women exchange dreams whilst planning their lives together. Playful, intimate and surprisingly naughty, these girlfriends are completely unfiltered behind closed doors.

But as unrest in Iran grows, wedding songs are replaced by sirens and protests break out across the country. Futures become uncertain and friendship is threatened as hard choices and emigration pull them apart. The UK premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner Sanaz Toossi’s Wish You Were Here, directed by Sepy Baghaei, charts a decade of sisterhood and platonic love with raw honesty and outrageous humour.

Through political upheaval and drastic change, can their bonds hold strong, or will best friends forever become friends long lost?  

“Wish You Were Here” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. On behalf of Samuel French Ltd. www.concordtheatricals.co.uk

Thu 24 Oct – Sat 23 Nov 
Evening performances: 7.30pm 
Saturday matinees: 2:30pm 

£16 during previews (24 – 28 Oct) 
£24 full price 
£16 Equity members, 65+, Access patrons, Under 26s, Students 
£5 Unwaged / Unemployed + on strike 

Pay What You Can performance: Mon 4 Nov 
Relaxed performance: Sat 9 Nov, 2:30pm 
Captioned performance: Mon 18 Nov, 7:30pm 
BSL performance: Tue 12 Nov, followed by a cast Q&A 
Audio-Described Performance: Sat 16 Nov 2.30pm

Content guidance: This show contains strong language, references to sex and sexual themes, references to the Iranian revolution and war including air raid sirens, references to drowning, themes of death and grief, depictions of period blood and smoking on stage.

For more information please access the Self Care and Content Guidance Pack here.

Age guidance: 12+ 
Duration estimation: 105 mins, no interval 

Art direction by Emilie Chen

Photography by Richard Lakos

Please see our booking terms and conditions.

Cast & creatives

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Sanaz Toossi
Sanaz Toossi is an Iranian-American playwright and the winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Her plays include ENGLISH (co-production Atlantic Theater Company/Roundabout Theatre Company) and WISH YOU WERE HERE (Playwrights Horizons; Williamstown/Audible). She is currently under commission at Atlantic Theater Company, Roundabout Theatre Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Manhattan Theatre Club and South Coast Repertory. Sanaz was the 2019 P73 Playwriting Fellow and a recipient of the Steinberg Playwright Award, the Horton Foote Award, Hull-Warriner Prize, Outer Critics Circle Award, and in 2023, the recipient of the Best New American Play Obie Award. MFA: NYU Tisch. 
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Sepy Baghaei
Sepy Baghaei is an Iranian-Australian theatre director who works primarily with new writing. She trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, the Australian Academy of Dramatic Art, and on the National Theatre Directors Course.   Selected credits as director include: I Am Lysistrata (Makani/Park Theatre); The Good Iranian (Rug Entertainment); Habibti Driver (Octagon Theatre); Sokhan Begoo (Royal Court); Little Women, Citizen, Wilde Tales (The Space); and Grimm Tales (City of Sydney Library).   As associate/assistant director: The Boy With Two Hearts (National Theatre/Wales Millennium Centre); Manor (National Theatre); Once Upon a Time in Nazi Occupied Tunisia (Almeida Theatre); Welcome To Iran (BBC Radio 3/Theatre Royal Stratford East/National Theatre); Reasons To Stay Alive (Sheffield Theatres/English Touring Theatre); Othello (English Touring Theatre); and As You Like It (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre).  Sepy Baghaei is an Iranian-Australian theatre director who works primarily with new writing. She trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, the Australian Academy of Dramatic Art, and on the National Theatre Directors Course.   Selected credits as director include: I Am Lysistrata (Makani/Park Theatre); The Good Iranian (Rug Entertainment); Habibti Driver (Octagon Theatre); Sokhan Begoo (Royal Court); Little Women, Citizen, Wilde Tales (The Space); and Grimm Tales (City of Sydney Library).   As associate/assistant director: The Boy With Two Hearts (National Theatre/Wales Millennium Centre); Manor (National Theatre); Once Upon a Time in Nazi Occupied Tunisia (Almeida Theatre); Welcome To Iran (BBC Radio 3/Theatre Royal Stratford East/National Theatre); Reasons To Stay Alive (Sheffield Theatres/English Touring Theatre); Othello (English Touring Theatre); and As You Like It (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre). 
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Pete Rickards
Pete is a seasoned Production Manager and Technical Consultant, deeply ingrained in the performing arts industries. His career has seen him undertake various technical and design roles across multiple disciplines intertwined with his skills in production management. Pete’s wide and varied skillset places him in a position which allows him to grasp the intricacies of the entirety of the production department.  Pete has been at the helm of managing productions worldwide for over a decade. His portfolio includes renowned venues such as The Barbican, The Roundhouse, Hackney Empire, BIPAF (Busan International Performing Arts Festival - South Korea), Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Schaubühne (Berlin), Soho Theatre, Liverpool Everyman, Battersea Arts Centre, Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham O2 Academy, Nottingham Playhouse and multiple UK/EU/Asian tours.  In addition to his managerial roles, Pete has successfully turned his hand to designing, constructing, and orchestrating immersive experiences for esteemed clients, including giants like Merlin Entertainment and The Tussauds Group.  Extensive touring and collaborations with musicians and artists of global acclaim have also punctuated Pete’s career. Notable mentions in his touring roster include Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Shit Theatre, Sikth, TheatreRE, We Are The Ocean, B Team, NME, Emma & PJ, and Mallory Knox.  Pete holds an unwavering commitment to creative detail and a knack for transparent budgeting; these qualities alongside his wealth of experience enables him to seamlessly traverse the spectrum from minimal R&D budgets to large-scale events budgets, all whilst ensuring the realisation of the client’s ultimate vision. Pete has a proven track record navigating diverse teams, often in projects teeming with multiple stakeholders, and consistently delivers on a multifaceted creative vision with precision. 
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Charlotte Smith- Barker
Assistant Stage Manager
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Nadine Rennie CDG
Casting Director
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Adi Gortler
Adi Gortler (she/her) is a movement director, teacher, and director. She graduated with her MFA in Movement Directing and Teaching from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (London), and a B.Ed in Theatre Directing and Teaching from Seminar Ha'Kibbutzim College (Tel Aviv). At the heart of her practice lies a deep celebration of people and their individuality, leading to an environment where uniqueness and identities are cherished and expressed in creating a story.   Latest work:  As Movement Director:  Baghdaddy, Jews. In Their Own Words (Royal Court), The EU Killed My Dad, The Anarchist (Jermyn Street Theatre), The Snow Queen (Polka Theatre), Attempts On Her Life (Guildhall), Cyrano De Bergerac, Bad Roads, Swive, How To Hold Your Breath, The Antipodes, Light Falls, Woyzeck, Pomona (LAMDA), Borders הגדר ألسياج (Vault Festival, Drayton Arms, OSO Arts Centre)   As Intimacy Director:  The Shape Of Things (Park Theatre), Cyrano De Bergerac, Bad Roads, Swive,  How To Hold Your Breath (LAMDA)  As Director:  A Trip To Heaven (Upstairs at the Gatehouse) What Moves You? (LAMDA), I See in Colour (International Children's Theatre Festival, Haifa), As a Matter of Fact- The Post Truth Cabaret (Habima Theatre, The Arab-Hebrew Theatre, Tzavta, Haifa Theatre) 
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Pouya Ehsaei
Pouya Ehsaei is a musician, sound designer, producer, curator and promoter from Iran, currently based in London.   Pouya started his musical career in the underground scene of his hometown Tehran. He has since performed in acclaimed venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Barbican Centre, Southbank Centre and the Royal Academy of Arts as well as several festivals including Montreux Jazz Festival, Womex, Womad, Fusion, Shambala and Linecheck. 
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Matt Haskins
Matt Haskins Theatre includes: A Tupperware of Ashes (National Theatre); The Empress (RSC); The Wedding Band and School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play (Lyric Hammersmith); The Girls of Slender Means (Edinburgh Lyceum); Jesus Christ Superstar and Miss Saigon (Folketeateret, Oslo); The Clinic (Almeida); Hakawatis (Shakesperare’s Globe); I & You, Mary, Fever Syndrome (Hampstead); Nina:A Story About Me and Nina Simone (Young Vic, Unity and Riksteatern, Stockholm); Private Peaceful (Nottingham Playhouse); Fair Play (Bush); The Lovely Bones (Birmingham Rep); Truth and Reconciliation (Royal Court); Dream Story (Gate); Peter Pan Goes Wrong (Westend and on Broadway). Opera includes: Coraline, Glare, The Virtues of Things, The Commission / Café Kafka (ROH); La Bohème, La Cenerentola, Don Pasquale (Irish National Opera); Macbeth (Grange Festival); The Snowmaiden, Hansel and Gretel, La Cenerentola, La Traviata (Opera North); Sukanya (Royal Festival Hall); Roberto Devereux, Maria Stuarda, Anna Bolena (WNO); Albert Herring (Maggio Musicale, Florence); Der fliegende Holländer and Romeo et Juliette (Estonian National Opera). 
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Cara Evans
Cara Evans (They/She) is a London Based performance designer. Cara graduated in Design for Stage from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and also worked as a reader for the Royal Court.  Theatre includes: as Designer or Co-Designer, Feral Monster (National Theatre Wales); Sleepova (Bush Theatre); Dear Young Monster (Bristol Old Vic Studio); The Living Newspaper (Royal Court); Sirens (Mercury Colchester Studio); Get Dressed! (Unicorn); Queer Upstairs (Royal Court); Body Show (Soho Theatre); Sylvia (English Theatre Frankfurt); It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure (National Tour); Ugly Sisters (New Diorama); Statues (Bush Theatre); SK Shlomo: Breathe (Royal Albert Hall); F**king Men (Waterloo East); The Beach House (Park Theatre Studio); Love Bomb (National Youth Theatre); Baba Joon (Swansea Grand Studio); Bright Half Life (King’s Head); The Misandrist (Arcola); Instructions for A Teenage Armageddon (Southwark Playhouse); Blanket Ban (New Diorama, UnTapped); A Different Class (Queen's Theatre Hornchurch); as Associate Designer for Chloe Lamford, Teenage Dick (Donmar School’s Tour). 
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Tomás Palmer
Tomás Palmer is an artist and designer who works across theatre, dance, opera and performance art. Tomás trained at the Glasgow School of Art and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. He is a recipient of the 2021 Linbury prize for theatre design and was the production designer on the Bafta award winning short film Too Rough. As an artist, he has created installations/performance pieces for the Centre for Contemporary Arts (Glasgow), Transmission Gallery (Glasgow) and Embassy Gallery (Edinburgh). Set and costume design credits include  Liberation Squares (Nottingham Playhouse, Brixton House), Dreaming and Drowning (Bush Theatre), Blue Mist (Royal Court), The Bacchae (The Lyric Hammersmith), My Uncle Is Not Pablo Escobar (Brixton House), Sanctuary (Access All Areas), Sophocles’ Oedipus / Silent Practice (Lamda), Time Is Running Out (Gate Theatre, Cardiff), Winning (Glasgow School of Art), Autocue (Centre for Contemporary Art Glasgow). Costume design credits include   Look Back In Anger, Roots (Almeida Theatre), Multiple Casualty Incident (Yard Theatre), Julius Caesar (RSC). 
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Izzy Kabban
Izzy Kabban is an actor, writer, theatre maker, and the Founder and Artistic Director of SpeakUp Theatre. Recent acting credits include The Syrian Baker (Farnham Maltings), and her work as a theatre maker includes RESIDUE(VAULT Festival), LOVE Watching Madness (UK Tour), and OUR SKL PROJECT (in development with Warwick Arts Centre and The Belgrade).  Born and raised in London, Izzy is half-Lebanese and half-Swedish. She enjoys working with autobiographical material and is committed to creating theatre for social change. 
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Gateways programme


“What happens after the play
is the point of the play” 

 

As part of our ongoing commitment to finding ways for theatre to have impact beyond the confines of a space and to engage with the context we make work with, we created Gateways. Gateways is a series of talks, commissions, and curated events that offer audiences opportunities to learn more about our work, our artists, and how our productions relate to the wider world.  

Alongside ‘Wish You Were Here’, our Gateways offerings respond to the themes of the play, the politics of Iran and feminism and platform new writing from three Iranian female playwrights.

These include: 

  • Q&A with cast and creatives about the theatre-making process hosted by Creative Associate Atri Banerjee 
  • Pre-show playlets, a chance to experience flashes of brand new work commissioned around the production
  • A collaboration with artists and companies. Independent artists and smaller companies supported by the Gate to present their work alongside our productions. 

Click here to book events on our Gateways programme. 

Book Tickets for Gateways

How To Book at the Gate

Online: Tickets can be booked on our website quickly and securely 24 hours a day.

By Phone: 07473 552618, our Box Office telephone line is most week daysbetween 11am and 5pm.

In person: Visit 26 Crowndale Roadon show days from 7pm or 2pm on matinee days to buy tickets at the Theatro Technis box office.

Tickets

Standard performances: £24 and under

Concession tickets, special prices and discounts for group bookings are available. See more information of Ways to Save below.

 

Ways to save

£16 Concessions

We are delighted to be able to offer £16concession tickets to the following:

  • Access / Disabled patrons
  • Under 26s*
  • Students*
  • Equity members
  • 65+

*Please bring a valid form of ID with you.

We offer free tickets for essential companions to join those who would not be able to attend our shows by themselves. Please book an Access ticket and one of the Gate team will be in touch to confirm the companion ticket and discuss how we can best support your visit.

Pay What You Can Performances

We are now offering Pay What You Can performances from £1. These will be announced when our shows are on-sale.

Group Bookings

We offer a group discount. Group bookings (of eleven or more tickets) can only be booked over email or the phone at gate@gatetheatre.co.ukor 07473552618(phone lines are open Mondays,Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11am – 5pm).

£5 Tickets For Unemployed / Unwaged / On Strike

We offering £5 tickets to Unemployed / Unwaged / On Strike audience members. These tickets are available to book online, on the phone or in person (on Gate Theatre show days), subject to availability.

Please note: All ticket offers are subject to availability, our terms and conditions, and may be withdrawn at any time. No offer or concession is to be used in conjunction with any other offer, unless otherwise stated. You may be asked to provide proof of concession eligibility at the time of booking or collection and we reserve the right to hold tickets at Box Office for collection in order to check concession status.

Venue

‘Wish You Were Here’ will be performed at Theatro Technis which can be found at:

26 Crowndale Road, Camden, London, NW1 1TT

 

By underground:

  • Mornington Crescent (Northern line), a 3 min walk
  • Euston (Overground, Northern and Victoria lines), a 10 min walk
  • Kings Cross (Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Piccadilly)

By bus:

  • 46 and 214 have stops closest to the theatre
  • 27, 29, 134, 268, 253 stop near Mornington Crescent station

 Please check TFL for full travel updates and alerts

By car: there are single yellow lines located on Crowndale Road and Bayham Street – Disabled Badge holders can park here

 

By bike: lots of bicycle parking space near Mornington Crescent station

Physical Access

The 110 seat theatre at 26 Crowndale Road is wheelchair accessible and step free on the ground floor. For any mobility or access concerns or questions, please call our box office and we will be happy to discuss options with you.

If you have any specific requirements or need additional information before attending a Gate performance, please do contact gate@gatetheatre.co.uk or by Telephone/Text Relay 07473 552618 and we will accommodate you wherever possible. 

Toilets & Facilities

There are three gender neutral toilets available. Door widths vary between 68cm and 76cm, and 84cm for the wheelchair accessible toilet, which includes baby changing facilities.

The 26 Crowndale Bar

 

The bar will be open for performances, serving beverages and light confectionary, which can be taken into the auditorium. The bar opens from 7pm.

The Gate Theatre Company is a company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales No. 1495543 – Charity No. 280278