Kit Harington will make his Slave Play debut this summer.
According to Deadline, the London native will return to his hometown for performances of the Jeremy O. Harris-written play, where he'll portray Jim, a slave overseer who's in a relationship with protagonist Kaneisha. Slave Play opened off Broadway in 2018 and came to Broadway at the John Golden Theatre the following year, with the character of Jim originated by actor Paul Alexander Nolan.
Divided into three movements, the play controversially explores the relationship dynamic between the overseer and the enslaved, along with topics of sexuality, racial trauma and gender in the Antebellum South. At the 74th Tony Awards, held in 2021, Slave Play earned 12 nominations, but didn't take home any awards.
Apart from Game of Thrones, Harington's been in London stage performances before, including War Horse, Doctor Faustus, True West and Henry V, per Deadline.
In an interview with The Guardian, Harris assured that Harington's presence wouldn't be a "distraction" in Slave Play, nor would the live engagements turn into "the Jon Snow experience," referring to the actor's GoT character. In the past, Harris has opposed star castings as commercialism for non-theater frequenters.
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“Kit was saying ‘I don’t want this to be Kit Harington in Slave Play, this is an ensemble play and I’m not even the lead,’” Harris said. “He knows the weight his name carries and how that could become a distraction, if we allowed it to be.”
Directed by Robert O’Hara, Slave Play will be held at the Noël Coward Theatre in London's West End from June 21 to Sept. 21.
