Shifters

Cherry Lane Theatre, New York’s oldest Off-Broadway theatre and a historic cultural landmark in the West Village, is proud to announce the North American premiere of Shifters, the critically acclaimed, intoxicating, and fierce new romance by Olivier Award-nominated writer Benedict Lombe.

Following a sold-out run at the Bush Theatre and in London’s West End, this electrifying production will make its highly anticipated North American debut at Cherry Lane Theatre, with previews beginning July 6th and an official opening set on July 15th, running through August 30th, 2026.

This epic and universal love story is about the enduring power of memory and young love. Meet Dre and Des, they are young, gifted, Black. He stayed. She left. Years later they come crashing back into each other’s lives, carrying new secrets and old scars. Caught in the space between memory and reality, they struggle to navigate the shifting borders that threaten to rewrite their past and reshape their future.

Heather Agyepong (The Power, School Girls; or The African Mean Girls Play), whose performance received critical acclaim and an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in the original production, will reprise her role as “Des." She is joined by Daniel Ezra (Netflix’s All American, The Running Man), who takes on the role of “Dre."

The production is directed by BAFTA-nominated and Evening Standard Theatre Award-winner Lynette Linton (The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Not Your Superwoman).

Eleanor Lloyd Productions and Chuchu Nwagu Productions, in association with Sonia Friedman Productions, are thrilled to bring this groundbreaking work to the Cherry Lane stage.