Pulitzer Prize winning Primary Trust takes the stage at the Grand Theatre, January 20 to February 7.

Prepared with files from the Grand Theatre

Ebobi Booth’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Primary Trust, comes to the Grand Theatre’s Spriet Stage in an all-new London-made co-production with Crow’s Theatre and directed by Cherissa Richards, January 20 to February 7.

Considered one of the most exciting scripts to grip modern theatre, Primary Trust is one of those stories that grabs you and whisks you into the styled yet realistic, gritty yet beautiful world of a Tiki Hut regular, Kenneth. “We are taken back to a recent time, but a time before smartphones, in North America, where connection wasn’t merely a click away and interpersonal connection took some work,” says Rachel Peake, Artistic Director of the Grand Theatre. “We lean into how Eboni Booth explores loneliness and the complicated need for connection.”

(Pictured: Rachel Peake, Artistic Director of the Grand Theatre.)

“This is my favourite play that I read for the season, and now I am so excited to get to share it with London audiences,” says Peake. “Full of magic realism, humour, and heart, Primary Trust lets you walk in the shoes of someone else in a way that unlocks the world a little differently.”

For the past several months, Booth’s script has been in the hands of theatre artists recruited from across Canada, including director Cherissa Richards and designers Julie Fox (set), Rachel Forbes (costume), Imogen Wilson (lighting), and Thomas Ryder Payne (sound). Together, they are building “a world that feels like ours, that looks like reality,” explains Peake, “but in fact, is not bound by the laws of physics or time and lives inside an active idea.”

(Pictured: Cherissa Richards, Director of Primary Trust. Photo: Kristen Sawatsky.)

One ‘happy hour’ at a time, the character of Kenneth will unfold on the stage, seemingly set with a life-size diorama. “The characters will step out into a frozen photograph and bring it to life. Surreal, fragmented buildings, slices of evocative settings, signalling to the audience that we are only being let in on part of the story – the rest is in your imagination,” says designer Fox. “There is a tumbleweed feel of boarded-up storefronts and empty spaces that resonates as we continue to come back from the pandemic in our own cities. In this kind of desolate, urban landscape – so typical across North America – we still manage to find beauty and connection, and the unexpectedness makes it that much more special.”

(Pictured: Durae McFarlane as Kenneth in Primary Trust. Photo: Mai Tilson.)

‘Extraordinary, ordinary’ Kenneth is played by Durae McFarlane, who is making his Grand Theatre debut after a series of theatre and TV roles. Musician and actor Lawrence Libor will perform keys on stage, adding a live soundtrack to the show. Libor is known to Grand audiences, having previously been in last season’s smash-hit musical Waitress, as well as the three-times-extended run of Cabaret, which set a record as the longest-running show on the Grand’s studio stage. Peter N. Bailey (Stratford, Canadian Stage) also makes a much-anticipated return to the Grand, after performing in August Wilson’s Fences (2018/19). The cast also includes Ryan Hollyman (Soulpepper, National Arts Centre, Mirvish) and Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah (Stratford Festival), who are both making their Grand Theatre debuts.

Creative Team

Cherissa Richards – Director

Julie Fox – Set Designer

Rachel Forbes – Costume Designer

Imogen Wilson – Lighting Designer

Thomas Ryder Payne – Sound Designer

Vanessa Spence – Assistant Director

Kai-Yueh Chen – Stage Manager

Emma Jo Conlin – Assistant Stage Manager

Finnley O’Brien – Apprentice Stage Manager

Cast

Peter N. Bailey – Bert

Ryan Hollyman – Clay / Sam / Le Pousselet Bartender

Lawrence Libor – Musician

Durae McFarlane – Kenneth

Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah – Corrina

(Pictured: Primary Trust Company. Photo: Farrell Tremblay.)

To learn more about Primary Trust at the Grand Theatre, please visit www.grandtheatre.com/event/primary-trust. Follow the production and peek behind the scenes by following @thegrandlondon and #GrandTrust on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, YouTube, & TikTok.

IF YOU GO:

What: The Grand Theatre presents Ebobi Booth’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Primary Trust.

When: January 20 to February 7, 2026.

Where: Grand Theatre’s Spriet Stage, 471 Richmond Street, London, ON

Tickets:  Tickets can be purchased online at grandtheatre.com, by phoning the Box Office at 519.672.8800, or by visiting the Box Office in person at 471 Richmond Street (weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.).