Retrograde

Important Information

Age Recommendation 14 and over

Performance Dates Until 15 Jun 2025

Performance Times Weds - Sat 2.30pm & 7.30pm, Sun 2pm & 7pm

Content Warning Features explicit language and racial slurs as well as themes of Racism and McCarthyism.

Run time 90 mins (no interval)

Venue Apollo Theatre

About Retrograde

"Must-see theatre. A deserved West End triumph for one of Britain's greatest playwrights." (The Telegraph)

Inspired by real events, Retrograde is an "instant classic" (Time Out) from award-winning writer Ryan Calais Cameron (For Black Boys…).

This alarmingly timely and "wickedly funny 90 minutes" (The Standard) captures a pivotal moment in the life of trailblazing actor Sidney Poitier.

Hollywood’s so-called Golden Age. Ten years before becoming the first Black man to win an Oscar, a young Sidney Poitier arrives to sign a life-changing contract that could make him a star. But there’s a catch. As he becomes entangled in events larger than he imagined, Sidney is forced to make an impossible choice - one that will reshape his future, the Civil Rights Movement, and the soul of a nation.

Backed by double Oscar and BAFTA nominee Colman Domingo as producer, Amit Sharma’s "perfectly pitched production" (Independent) stars Ivanno Jeremiah, Stanley Townsend?and?Oliver Johnstone as "an ensemble operating at its peak" (WhatsOnStage).

Exploring integrity, betrayal, and the personal cost of success, Retrograde asks what would you sacrifice to achieve your dream?

"See it, definitely." (The Standard)

Accessibility Information

Access Performances:

BSL: Friday 18 April 7.30pm

Captioned: Saturday 26 April 2.30pm

Audio Described: Saturday 3 May 7.30pm