Retrograde
The true story of Sidney Poitier’s career becomes a gripping drama in Retrograde, Ryan Calais Cameron’s latest play. Calais Cameron, who wrote the Olivier Award-nominated hit For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide, delves into a shocking event in the pioneering actor’s rise to fame, as he was faced with an impossible choice between his principles and his livelihood. Set ten years before his history-making Oscar win, Retrograde is a tense three-hander set over one day, when Poitier had to decide whether to publicly denounce Black activist Paul Robeson. With a career-changing contract waiting to be signed and influential Hollywood producers breathing down his neck, what will he decide to do? After an acclaimed premiere at North London’s Kiln Theatre, this “perfectly pitched” (Time Out) show from “one of theatre’s most thrilling voices” (The Independent) transfers to the Apollo Theatre for a strictly limited season, starring Ivanno Jeremiah (Constellations, Channel 4’s Humans) as Sidney Poitier.
Show Times
- Booking From
- 31 March 2025
- Booking Until
- 15 June 2025
- Running Time
- 90 minutes
- Age Restrictions
- Best for age 14+