‘Desire Under the Elms’ by Eugene O’Neill heads to London’s Almeida Theatre: full cast announced

London’s Almeida Theatre has announced the full cast of its new production of “Desire Under the Elms,” the 20th-century classic by four-time Pulitzer Prize winner Eugene O’Neill, as BroadwayWorld reports.

Alongside Zackary Momoh (“Seven Seconds,” “Harriet”) — whose name had been announced earlier — the ensemble is joined by Jamie Beamish, Antony Byrne, Thomas Coombes, Kelly Gough, Choolwe Laina Muntanga, Tendai Humphrey Sitima and Nathaniel Wade.

The production is directed by the theatre’s own former resident director, Ebenezer Bamgboye, known for “The Lonely Londoners,” who brings a fresh take on this family drama to the stage where he once worked as resident director.

The production opens officially on Tuesday, November 17, with previews starting Tuesday, November 10, and runs through Wednesday, December 23 — making it one of the centerpiece titles of the London theatre’s winter season.

Inspired by Greek tragedy, the play follows Eben and his two brothers working the family farm and dreaming of a better future — until the patriarch Ephraim returns to the stage, reappearing after two months’ unexplained absence with an unexpected companion who shatters the family’s status quo. According to the theatre’s announcement, the show is a devastating battle between the passion of the heart and the reason of the mind.