The Urmetazoan

The Urmetazoan description

About the Show

Alice and Abigail have always been opposites. Alice has a Nobel Prize for Medicine; Abigail likes to get stoned on the sofa. Abigail is a homebody; Alice is preparing to leave the earth forever on a one-way mission into deep space. As the launch approaches and the sisters rediscover the pleasure of being in each other's orbit, the goodbye they had both taken for granted becomes far harder than either expected.

The Urmetazoan receives its world premiere at Hampstead Theatre, playing in the Downstairs studio. It is a new play by Alex Rugman, an award-winning writer and co-artistic director of Freight Theatre who is a graduate of Hampstead's INSPIRE programme for emerging playwrights. The production is suitable for ages 14 and up.

Cast and Creatives

The play is written by Alex Rugman, whose earlier work includes How To Save A Rock at the Pleasance Theatre and Move Fast and Break Things at Camden People's Theatre. It is directed by Anna Ledwich, who returns to Hampstead Theatre after Bird Grove, The Billionaire Inside Your Head and the Olivier-nominated productions of Dry Powder and Four Minutes Twelve Seconds. Set and costume design is by Tomás Palmer, lighting by Jonathan Chan and sound by Sarah Spencer.

Dorothea Myer-Bennett, whose credits include Glengarry Glen Ross at the Old Vic, plays Alice. Meghan Treadway, seen in Witness for the Prosecution at London County Hall, plays Abigail, and Ben Allen, who appeared in Folk at Hampstead Theatre, plays Will.

Why You Should Watch It

Opening at Hampstead Theatre on 18 September 2026, this is an intimate new play about sisterhood, distance and the things left unsaid before a departure. Book your tickets to see it in the Downstairs studio, where every seat is close to the action.

Playing at Hampstead Theatre (venue info)