Overview

Before they were icons they were friends.

25 February 1964: Cassius Clay is crowned the new heavyweight champion of the world and celebrates with three of his closest friends – activist Malcolm X, American football icon Jim Brown and soul star Sam Cooke – in a downtown Miami motel room.

That much we know is true. What follows is an imagined account of a fabled real-life event.

Kemp Powers’ tough-talking, in-your-face drama speculates on what might have happened in that room that night. Over music, whiskey and two tubs of vanilla ice cream, the men wrangle with the change that’s gonna come. What will emerge are four legends that would define an era.

Directed by Matthew Xia (director of 2018’s acclaimed production Shebeen), One Night in Miami… is a play about prejudice and brotherhood, and asks us: on which side of the fence do we stand when hard choices need to be made?

One Night in Miami… received its theatrical stage premiere in the UK at the Donmar Warehouse on Tuesday 11 October 2016.

Access

We provide British Sign Language Interpretation, Captioning and Audio Description for this production.

Everyone is welcome to attend accessible performances, customers experience the full show including the accessible services.

Cast

Matt Henry
Sam Cooke Matt Henry
Malcolm X Christopher Colquhoun
Cassius Clay Conor Glean
Jim Brown Miles Yekinni
Kareem André Squire
Jamaal Oseloka Obi

Creatives

Writer Kemp Powers
Director Matthew Xia
Designer Grace Smart
Lighting Designer Ciarán Cunningham
Composer/Sound Designer Max Pappenheim
Musical Director Tim Sutton
Fight Director Kev McCurdy
Movement Director Kane Husbands
Voice Coach Joel Trill
Casting Director Sophie Parrott CDG

Reviews

“Packs one hell of a punch”
4 rating
The Times (on the Donmar's production)
“Powers has lit on a crucible moment”
4 rating
The Observer (on the Donmar's production)

Video

Rehearsal Images

Production Images

Sponsors

Nottingham Trent University