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Golden Globe and SAG Award-winning actor, producer, and director Idris Elba, Brit Award and Mercury Prize-winning musician and actor Little Simz, and Tony-nominated playwright and SAG Award-winning actress Danai Gurira have joined the producing team for the North American premiere of Shifters, the new romance by Olivier Award-nominated writer Benedict Lombe.
Following sold-out runs at London’s Bush Theatre and the West End’s Duke of York’s Theatre, Shifters will make its North American debut at Cherry Lane Theatre, New York’s oldest Off-Broadway theatre and a historic cultural landmark in the West Village, with previews beginning July 6th and an official opening set for July 15th, running through August 30th, 2026.
Elba, Little Simz, and Gurira join Eleanor Lloyd Productions and Chuchu Nwagu Productions, in association with Sonia Friedman Productions, in bringing this work to the Cherry Lane stage.
Idris Elba says: “Seeing the profound impact Shifters had on London audiences was a reminder of how universal this story truly is. Benedict Lombe has crafted a masterpiece of modern romance, and I am proud to see it cross the Atlantic. With the brilliant Heather Agyepong reprising her role alongside the exceptional Daniel Ezra, bringing this play to the historic Cherry Lane Theatre is a milestone moment for Black British storytelling in New York.”
Little Simz says: “I first saw Shifters at the Bush Theatre on the last night of the run. I was moved to tears by this play. I knew I had to be involved when it moved to the West End, and now I’m so excited that New York gets to experience this incredible story. New York, come through, and get your tickets now before it’s too late!”
Danai Gurira says: “As a Zimbabwean-American playwright, I am passionate about championing stories of the Black Diaspora. I am thrilled to help amplify this gorgeous writer’s work. Shifters is a beautiful and complex exploration of Black love. How rarely do we get to see Black love stories! It is a gem, and I hope will propel more stories from across the Black Diaspora to be told on global platforms. I am honored to join this team and welcome Benedict Lombe’s groundbreaking voice to the New York stage at the legendary Cherry Lane.”
About Shifters
This epic and universal love story follows Dre and Des: young, gifted, and Black. He stayed. She left. Years later, they come crashing back into each other’s lives, carrying new secrets and old scars. Caught between memory and reality, they must navigate the shifting borders that threaten to rewrite their past and reshape their future.
The Cherry Lane production stars Olivier Award-nominated actress Heather Agyepong, reprising her acclaimed role as “Des” from the original Bush Theatre and West End productions, opposite Daniel Ezra (Netflix’s All American, The Running Man) as “Dre.” The production is directed by BAFTA-nominated and Evening Standard Theatre Award-winning director Lynette Linton, who led the Bush Theatre as Artistic Director from 2019 to 2025.
Tickets for Shifters at Cherry Lane Theatre are on sale now. Preview pricing (July 6th–15th) ranges from $69–$139, with a limited selection of $24 rush seats, while regular run pricing (July 17th–August 30th) scales from $89–$169, with onstage seating available at $99.
