Marisha Wallace Makes Straight-Play Debut in Table 17 at Kiln Theatre
Marisha Wallace, best known for musical theatre roles that earned her Olivier and WhatsOnStage Award nominations, will make her straight-play debut this autumn in the UK premiere of Douglas Lyons' romantic comedy Table 17 at Kiln Theatre in Kilburn, north-west London.
Wallace plays Jada opposite Jamael Westman — a WhatsOnStage Award winner — as Dallas, with Michael Rishawn cast as River/Eric. The production runs from 17 September to 24 October 2026, with a press night on 24 September (WhatsOnStage).
Table 17 follows Jada and Dallas, former fiancés who meet for dinner after seven years apart and must decide whether they still have a future together. The play had its world premiere in the US, with sold-out engagements at MCC Theater in New York and Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. The Kiln production is a newly created staging built for its UK premiere.
Directing is Zhailon Levingston, a 2026 Tony Award winner who previously co-directed Cats: The Jellicle Ball, the ballroom-culture reimagining of the Lloyd Webber musical. The creative team includes set and costume designer Amy Jane Cook, lighting designer Matt Haskins and sound designer George Dennis. Nicholai La Barrie is associate director, Maybelle Laye is costume supervisor, and Dominique Hamilton oversees wigs, hair and make-up.
For Wallace, the role marks a shift from the big musical houses where she has built her career into the more intimate 292-seat Kiln. For Westman, it is a return to the venue after his breakout turn in Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre. Rishawn, who appeared in the Geffen Playhouse production of Table 17 in Los Angeles, reprises his connection to the play for the UK staging.
Rehearsals are under way, with first-look images from the rehearsal room released on 28 August (WhatsOnStage).
The play's title refers to the restaurant table where Jada and Dallas sit across from each other, picking over a relationship that ended years ago. Lyons, whose work spans plays and musicals, has built a career on comedies that land emotional weight beneath the laughs. The American premiere drew sell-out houses on both coasts.
For Kiln Theatre, currently under artistic director Amit Sharma, the production adds a transatlantic title to a programme that balances new British writing with international work. The theatre, a London Borough of Brent venue that rebuilt and reopened in 2018 after a major capital project, has become a regular staging ground for UK premieres of American plays.
Beyond London, Table 17 is also scheduled for a run at Falls Theatre in autumn, presented by Union Arts Center from 24 October to 15 November 2026.
