Exclusive
Jeremy O. Harris on bringing ‘Slave Play’ to London, DMs from Rihanna & the latest on ‘Euphoria’ Season 3
28 February 2024, 12:17
Capital XTRA spoke exclusively to Jeremy O. Harris about bringing the most Tony-award nominated play ‘Slave Play’ to the West End, his role as producer in 'Euphoria' and his close relationship with Rihanna.
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Jeremy O. Harris, the writer of critically-acclaimed Broadway show Slave Play has announced a London run at the Noel Coward Theatre this summer.
Starring the likes of Heartstopper’s Fisayo Akinade and Game of Thrones’ Kit Harrington, Slave Play is a “ground-breaking and controversial play about race, identity and sexuality in twenty-first century America.”
Jeremy O. Harris sat down with Capital XTRA to discuss bringing his critically-acclaimed play to new audiences in London, his blossoming friendship with superstar Rihanna and shared an exclusive update on the third season of Euphoria.
Slave Play’s cast sees both returning actors from the 2021 Broadway production James Cusati-Moyer, Chalia La Tour, Annie McNamara and Irene Sofia Lucio, as well as new cast-mates, who most notably are Kit Harrington, Fisayo Akinade, Aaron Heffernan and Olivia Washington.
When it came to casting, Jeremy exclusively revealed it was fellow rising star Ayo Edebiri who suggested Olivia Washington as Kaneisha: ”Not only is she the hardest working actress in Hollywood, she’s also a genius casting director.”
“[Ayo] and Olivia went to college together, and there was no question she was the right fit for the role. Her and Kit (who plays Jim) feel like a couple,” said O. Harris.
Jeremy is not only a successful writer, having co-penned A24’s Zola, and has also acted in Netflix drama Emily in Paris. He also co-produced season two of HBO’s Euphoria, starring Zendaya as Rue.
Zendaya and her on-screen love interest Hunter Schafer are close friends of Jeremy, where he calls the pair “leaders”, who are “the type of people I want to have in my casts”.
The third season of Euphoria has been in production since the release of the second season in 2022. However, the WGA strike and lasting effects from Covid have stalled its development.
With Euphoria season three rumoured to air in 2025 at the earliest, fans are eager for updates on the HBO show. Jeremy told Capital XTRA: “I know what’s going to happen in Season 3,” hinting that the scripts have been written.
Jeremy O. Harris cites Rihanna as one of his closest friends and confidants, whereby the playwright uses her 2016 hit ‘Work’ in the opening scene of Slave Play.
“We all know how we felt when we first heard Rihanna sing Work,” he told XTRA. “I wanted to invite as many people in as possible” when it came to taking “high brow ideas and smashing them together with these innate ideas.”
“Rihanna and her mother liked the play,” O. Harris quipped. “[A$AP] Rocky hasn’t seen it yet so maybe they can have a date night in London.”
He revealed the last text RiRi sent him, as the ‘Needed Me’ singer excitedly told him “the tap water in Thailand is unreal!” after a recent trip to the country.
Speculation has been rife over new music from the singer, and O. Harris revealed that [Rihanna] “don’t tell me anything either!”
“I’m in the Navy, I’m delusional,” laughed O. Harris over a possibility Rihanna will release new material since 2016’s ANTI.
Jeremy O. Harris praised the Black British writers who have had their theatrical debuts on London’s West End, and he hopes Slave Play will do the same for emerging writers.
“I hope that as a young Black person you are not bound by anyone else’s idea of what you should be writing.”
“I hope this play opens more doors for young Black Britons to write about their history."
'Slave Play' by Jeremy O. Harris, directed by Robert O’Hara, will run at Noel Coward Theatre from 29 June - 21 September 2024.
Every Wednesday at 10am, starting on 26 June 2024, 30 tickets for Slave Play will be released for each performance the following week at £1 and above. There will also be 10 seats released on the morning for each performance day at £20 each (maximum of two per person). For more details please visit www.slaveplaylondon.com
