An Enemy of the People

An Enemy of the People tickets
Doctor Who and House of the Dragon’s Matt Smith stars in a thrilling revival of Henrik Ibsen’s classic drama about a community that closes ranks on a whistleblower. Written in the 1800s but uncannily relevant today, German director Thomas Ostermeier’s production hits the West End after wowing audiences in Europe. Don’t miss your chance to see Smith’s luminous presence meet a searing creative vision on stage, in this strictly limited season at the Duke of York’s Theatre. 
FIND TICKETS
Booking until 13 April 2024

Box Office Contacts

Box Office:0844 871 7615
Access Booking:033 3009 5399
Group Booking:020 7206 1174
Stage Door:020 7836 4615

History

Originally opening in 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, the venue was designed by Walter Emden before being renamed the Trafalgar Theatre in 1894 and then to the Duke of York's Theatre in 1895, to honour King George V. A Grade II listed building known for hosting a variety of plays, musicals and operas, the building is now best-known for housing straight plays under the management of ATG.

The venue's first ever production was Wedding Eve (1892), with musicals such as Go-Bang (1894), operas such as Madame Butterfly (1900) and world premieres such as JM Barrie's Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up (1904) gracing the stage. Peter Pan returned to the venue successively each year for the next decade, once starring Noel Coward in 1912.

Early productions included The Admirable Crichton (1902) and What Every Woman Knows (1908), London Calling (1923), Easy Virtue (1926) and Home Chat (1927). Following the takeover of the theatre by ATG, the Duke of York's Theatre has hosted high quality productions such as The Rocky Horror Show, as well as successful Royal Court seasons.

Notable productions throughout the years have included Journey's End (2004-2005), The Dresser (2005), starring Nicholas Lyndhurst and Julian Glover, Hedda Gabler (2005), Embers (2006), starring Jeremy Irons, Eh Joe (2006), starring Michael Gambon and Tom Stoppard's star-studded Rock 'n' Roll (2006-2007), which included Dominic West and Rufus Sewell.

Sheridan Smith starred in Little Shop of Horrors (2007), followed by In Celebration (2007), starring Orlando Bloom. Further productions included Rent Remixed (2007-2008), starring Denise Van Outen, No Man's Land (2008-2009), A View from the Bridge (2009), starring Ken Stott, Ghost Stories (2010-2011), Posh (2012), Jumpy (2012), starring Tamsin Grieg, Constellations (2012-2013), The Judas Kiss (2013), starring Rupert Everett, and Passion Play (2013), starring Zoe Wanamaker.

Following these, Hattie Morahan starred in A Doll's House (2013), with Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense (2014) scooping the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. 2015 saw productions of Neville's Island, The Nether, Hay Fever, starring Felicity KendalHetty Feather and Mark Rylance in Farinelli and the King.

A West End revival of popular children's tale Goodnight Mr Tom finished off the year, playing in rep with Peppa Pig's Surprise (2016). 2016 saw a revival of The Father transfer to the Duke of York's from Wyndham's Theatre, starring Olivier Award-winner Kenneth Cranham. Game of Thrones star Kit Harington starred in Jamie Lloyd's adaptation of Doctor Faustus, which was followed by popular comedy How the Other Half Loves, which transferred from the Theatre Royal Haymarket, starring Jenny Seagrove. 2016 rounds off with Ken Stott and Reece Shearsmith starring in Ronald Harwood's The Dresser.

2017 began with an acclaimed performance of Ron Harwood's The Dresser, starring Ken Stott and Reece Shearsmith. Further productions included the Olivier Award nominated The Glass Menagerie, starring Cherry Jones and directed by John Tiffany. Olivier Award-winning comedy Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour was next, after a sold-out run at the National Theatre, followed by the Almeida Theatre transfer of James Graham's play Ink, directed by Rupert Goold and starring Bertie Carvel.

Robert Icke's Mary Stuart was another Almeida transfer, arriving at the venue in January 2018, starring Juliet Stevenson and Lia Williams. Roger Allam and Nancy Carroll then went on to reprise their roles in The Moderate Soprano, followed by a star-turn from Ian McKellen in King Lear, transferring from Chichester Festival Theatre. The final Almeida transfer of 2018 to grace the stage was Summer and Smoke, a revival of a lesser-known Tennessee Williams play.

2019 will see the National Theatre transfer of Laura Wade's play Home I'm Darlingstarring Katherine Parkinson. Following this will be Ibsen's play Rosmersholmstarring Hayley Atwell and Tom Burke. The UK tour of The Girl on the Train plays for four weeks. In August, the theatre will host the West End transfer of Florian Zeller's The Son, first performed at the Kiln Theatre. For the festive period, Peppa Pig's Surprise played at the theatre.

David Greig's adaptation of award-winning true story Touching the Void transferred to the theatre for a limited season in November.

In March 2020, the Duke of York's Theatre closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Theatre transfer of The Ocean at the End of the Lane opened in October 2021. Planned productions of The Doctor and The Pillowman were postponed.

From May 2022, six-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams starred in a revival of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, followed by the West End transfer of The Doctor starring Juliet Stevenson.

Over Christmas 2022, Sir Ian McKellen and John Bishop starred in the pantomime Mother Goose, and in 2023, Sheridan Smith appeared in a revival of Willy Russell's Shirley Valentine, followed by Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman, starring Lily Allen and Steve Pemberton. In Autumn 2023, Andrew Scott starred in Vanya, a one-man version of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya followed by Luke Evans and Penelope Wilton in Backstairs Billy.

In 2024, Matt Smith stars in a new version of An Enemy of the People from February.

Past Shows

Backstairs Billy
Backstairs Billy
(closed 27 Jan 2024)
Vanya
Vanya
(closed 21 Oct 2023)
The Pillowman
The Pillowman
(closed 2 Sep 2023)

 
Shirley Valentine
Shirley Valentine
(closed 3 Jun 2023)
Mother Goose
Mother Goose
(closed 29 Jan 2023)
The Doctor
The Doctor
(closed 11 Dec 2022)

 
The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie
(closed 27 Aug 2022)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
(closed 14 May 2022)
Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit
(closed 11 Apr 2020)

 
Touching the Void
Touching the Void
(closed 29 Feb 2020)
Peppa Pig's Best Day Ever
Peppa Pig's Best Day Ever
(closed 5 Jan 2020)
The Son
The Son
(closed 2 Nov 2019)