It’s the morning before the opening night of “Shifters” at the Cherry Lane Theatre, and British actress Heather Agyepong is ready for the moment. New Yorkers are, too.
“ New York audiences are delicious,” says Agyepong, who stars in the intimate off-Broadway production following its acclaimed run in London. “They’re very responsive. They’ll shout, they’ll laugh, they’ll cry. It seems like people are really ready to connect emotionally to the work,” she says, adding that while audiences in London tended to be more reserved in their vocal reactions, “New York audiences feel like they’re locked in from the jump.”
The buzzy play debuted at the Bush Theatre in 2024 before transferring to the West End, picking up Olivier Award nominations in 2025 for best new play and best actress for Agyepong. Idris Elba, Little Simz and Danai Gurira joined the producing team for the show’s New York run, slated through the end of August.
“There are cultural nuances in Black British storytelling that we didn’t really recognize at the time,” says Agyepong, asked about the experience of bringing “Shifters” Stateside. “But because there are so many universal themes like love and heartbreak and what home means, it feels like they are starting to connect that with their own lives, which feels really great.”
