Text: Lily Allen, Steve Pemberton, The Pillowman, By Martin McDonagh, Directed by Matthew Dunster, Duke of York's Theatre, 10 June - 2 September 2023. Image: A chilling cartoon smile with a tear coming out of it's eye.
Lily Allen and Steve Pemberton. The Pillowman London
Steve Pemberton. The Pillowman London
Text: Lily Allen, Steve Pemberton, The Pillowman, By Martin McDonagh, Directed by Matthew Dunster, Duke of York's Theatre, 10 June - 2 September 2023. Image: A chilling cartoon smile with a tear coming out of it's eye.
Lily Allen and Steve Pemberton. The Pillowman London
Steve Pemberton. The Pillowman London
Back to Plays

The Pillowman Tickets

4.5 
61 reviews
Duke of Yorks TheatreLondon
The Pillowman starring Lily Allen and Steve Pemberton heads to the Duke of York's Theatre

This production is recommended for ages 14+

Running until 02 September 2023

Run time To be confirmed.

Includes interval

Free E-Tickets

This show offers free, no-hassle self-print or e-tickets

  • Show info
  • Gallery
  • Accessibility
  • Reviews
  • News

Tickets for The Pillowman revival at the Duke of York's Theatre are on sale now!

The highly anticipated new revival of Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman is heading to London! Starring Olivier award nominee, Lily Allen, and BAFTA winner Steve Pemberton, this darkly comedic play explores the power of prose, and questions whether stories hold the power to cause atrocities. Limited to a strict 12-week run, don’t sleep on your chance to get tickets to The Pillowman at the Duke of York's Theatre!

What is The Pillowman play about?

The Pillowman is a dark, twisty, and utterly unforgettable masterpiece from one of Ireland’s most renowned playwrights, Martin McDonagh. In an interrogation room in an unnamed totalitarian dictatorship, fiction writer Katurian is being questioned.

A series of brutal and barbaric child murders have haunted the silent town, and they all resemble the authors' unsettling short stories. Already the police’s prime suspect, things take a turn for the worse when Katurian's brother Michal confesses and implicates Katurian in the process. Knowing that execution is just around the corner, can Katurian manage to save his stories, and himself, from destruction?

The Pillowman Duke of York's Theatre cast and creative team

The 12-week run of The Pillowman will be directed by Matthew Dunster and is set to star music icon Lilly Allen as Katurian, with League of Gentleman creator Steve Pemberton as Tupolski. Game of Thrones star Paul Kaye will play Ariel and Matthew Tennyson, who recently starred in A Monster Calls at The Old Vic, will play Michal. The show will feature costume and set design by Anna Fleischle, casting by Amy Ballfur, and sound design by Ian Dickinson.

Full casting for the West End revival of The Pillowman along with the full creative team will be announced shortly.

The Pillowman production history and awards/nominations

The original 2003 production won Best New Play at the Olivier and Evening Standard awards. The Broadway adaptation followed in its success, scooping two Tony awards and five New York Drama Critics Circle Awards, including Best Foreign Play.

The Pillowman themes and inspiration

The Pillowman inhabits an abstract unreality, similar to the sinister enchantment of the Brothers Grimm’s tale Little Red Riding Hood. Although it was first penned in the 90s, this twisted fairytale has a profane nastiness that makes it entirely contemporary. Shifting from an autobiographical point of view to a re-enactment of events, The Pillowman’s plot is carried by various narratives through different host bodies, similar to the 1991 independent film Closet Land.

The Pillowman tickets are available now!

Tickets for The Pillowman at Duke of York's Theatre are expected to be in high demand! Be sure to act fast if you want to see this fantastic new revival of Martin McDonagh's multi-award-winning play.

Age restriction

This production is recommended for ages 14+

Running time

To be confirmed.

Performance dates

12 June - 02 September 2023

Venue Information

Duke of Yorks Theatre
St Martin's LaneLondonWC2N 4BG

Recent Reviews

4.5
61 reviews

Latest The Pillowman News

The Pillowman postpones summer run at Duke of York's Theatre to 2021

News / Productions

The Pillowman postpones summer run at Duke of York's Theatre to 2021

This summer's hotly-anticipated return of Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman has now been officially postponed, it has been announced. Directed by Matthew Dunster (A Very Very Very Dark Matter, Hangmen) and set to star Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Katurian and Steve Pemberton as Tupolski, the Olivier Award-winning play will now run at the West End's Duke of York's Theatre in summer 2021, with exact dates yet to be determined. 

5 Jun, 2020 | By Nicholas Ephram Ryan Daniels

New revival of The Pillowman to run at the Duke of York's Theatre

News / New Shows + Transfers

New revival of The Pillowman to run at the Duke of York's Theatre

A new revival production of Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman is set to run at the Duke of York's Theatre in London this summer, it has been announced. The show's return comes more than 15 years after its initial Olivier Award-winning run at the National Theatre that starred David Tennant (Good, Doctor Who)and its two-time Tony Award-winning Broadway transfer that starred Jeff Goldblum (The Prince of Egypt). The 12-week production will star Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Steve Pemberton.

28 Feb, 2020 | By Nicholas Ephram Ryan Daniels