theater

John Boyega Lands His First Starring Role on London’s West End in Woyzeck

Congrats! Photo: Eamonn McCormack/Getty Images

John Boyega’s post–Star Wars trajectory now includes his first starring role in a major theater production. Deadline reports that Boyega will star in an adaptation of Georg Büchner’s Woyzeck at the Old Vic Theatre in London’s West End. He’ll play the titular Woyzeck, a mentally troubled soldier who murders his wife. Boyega previously had minor roles at the National Theatre and the Tricycle in Kilburn, and was handpicked for Woyzeck by the theater’s artistic director. Jack Thorne, the playwright behind the upcoming Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, will adapt Woyzeck, which is set to open in 2017. Boyega also recently signed on for a voice-over role in the BBC’s animated Watership Down mini-series. The news that he’s headed to the theater after starring in the Force Awakens comes just a day after Lupita Nyong’o explained in Lenny that she opted for her Tony-nominated role on Broadway to avoid playing stereotypes for Hollywood.

John Boyega to Star in Woyzeck on the West End