Tilda Swinton will make her New York stage debut this winter in Man to Man, the Manfred Karge monologue she first performed almost 40 years ago. Previews begin at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on February 21, 2027, for a strictly limited eight-week engagement.
The role is the one Swinton created: Ella/Max, a woman in 1930s Germany who dresses in her dead husband's clothes and goes on living as him, holding on through war, dictatorship, hunger and humiliation. Playing it again marks the Academy Award winner's return to the theater after four decades away, a return that began this fall in London. Opening night at the Lortel is set for February 28, 2027.
Swinton originated the part in the play's UK premiere at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, which commissioned that production in 1987; it transferred to the Royal Court in London the following year. The new staging reunites her with director Stephen Unwin and designer Bunny Christie, and uses Anthony Vivis's English translation, revised by Unwin.
New York is the final stop on a route that started at the Royal Court Theatre, where the production is playing now. The London run sold out within two hours and its waitlist has passed 30,000. The critics there were largely united: The Telegraph called Swinton's performance "mesmerizing" and the Financial Times found it "triumphant" and "riveting," with four-star notices also coming from The Guardian, The Stage, Time Out London, the i and WhatsOnStage. The London reviews are collected in this review roundup. Before reaching the Lortel, the production will also play short runs at the Traverse Theatre in Scotland and with the Berliner Ensemble in Germany.
The New York engagement is presented by Brian and Dayna Lee, the Royal Court Theatre, the Berliner Ensemble and Madison Wells Live, by special arrangement with the Lucille Lortel Theatre. Lighting design is by Ben Ormerod, sound design by Elena Peña and projection design by Matt Powell. Erin Gioia Albrecht is production stage manager, with general management by NVK Inc. and production management by Brian Freeland.
A presale opens on Wednesday, October 21, at 10am ET, and the general on-sale follows on Thursday, October 22, at 10am ET. Tickets are sold through the production's website, mantomanplay.com, and at the Lucille Lortel Theatre box office at 121 Christopher Street, where member tickets are available for Lortel members.
