Black Panther’s Danai Gurira lands play at the Young Vic

Her 2012 play The Convert explores 'the impact of colonialism and Catholicism on black identity'

Black Panther star and acclaimed, Tony-nominated playwright Danai Gurira will stage her 2012 play The Convert at the Young Vic.

It will form part of the first season under the theatre's new artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah, succeeding David Lan, alongside a musical adaptation of Twelfth Night, conceived by Kwei-Armah and Shaina Taub, originally performed at New York's Public Theater in 2016.

Other productions include Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, which will be directed by Kate Hewitt, and Naomi Wallace's Things of Dry House, to be directed by Debbie Hannan.

The Convert explores "the impact of colonialism and Catholicism on black identity". Set in Rhodesia, in 1896, the play follows a young girl taken into the household of a black Roman Catholic missionary, escaping a forced marriage, but at the cost of leaving her family behind and converting to Catholicism.

The play was first staged as a co-production between the Goodman Theatre in Chicago and the McCarter Theatre in New Jersey in 2012.

Gurira's past work as a playwright includes In the Continuum, about two women navigating the world after contracting HIV; 2015's Familiar, which explored cultural identity through a first-generation American; and Eclipsed, whose 2009 staging at The Public Theater starred Lupita Nyong'o, set in war-torn Liberia. Eclipsed was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play.

The Convert will be staged at the Young Vic from 7 December 2018 to 19 January 2019. Tickets for the 2018 season are on sale to Friends of the Young Vic now. Public booking opens Monday 23 April at 10.00am. You can book from the website here.

Follow Independent Culture on Facebook for all the latest on Film, TV, Music, and more.