‘Billions’ Star Kunken Leads RSC’s ‘Kyoto’ in West End Transfer

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and Good Chance have revealed that “Kyoto” will transfer to @sohoplace theater in London’s West End for a 16-week run from Jan. 9 to May 3, 2025.

The production, which had its world premiere in Stratford-upon-Avon, will see Tony-nominated actor Stephen Kunken (“Billions,” “The Handmaid’s Tale”) reprise his role as American oil lobbyist Don Pearlman. Joining Kunken in the West End transfer will be several actors reprising their roles from the Stratford-upon-Avon run.

“Kyoto,” written by Good Chance co-founders Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, is a political thriller set during the 1997 Kyoto climate summit. The play, directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, who previously teamed on “Stranger Things The First Shadow,” recounts the tense negotiations leading up to the signing of the U.N.’s landmark climate conference.

Kunken said: “I’m utterly thrilled and champing at the bit to return to ‘Kyoto’ and the complicated character that is Don Pearlman. Bringing this play to life has been one of the most invigorating, challenging and rewarding artistic endeavours of my career.”

Daldry and Martin added: “’Kyoto’ tells the story of a miraculous moment of agreement in which the seemingly impossible, became a reality. From the crucible of Kyoto emerged something extraordinary; a landmark moment in the history of climate legislation, which paved the way for much of the environmental progress we have witnessed in our lifetime.”

RSC co-artistic directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey said: “Nearly 30 years on from the signing of the original Kyoto climate agreement in December 1997, this ultimately hopeful story of agreement against the odds embodies our core belief in the unique power of theater to bring people together.”

Nica Burns, founder of @sohoplace, the first new-build West End theater in 50 years, added: “Speaking to the most urgent issues of our time, ‘Kyoto’ is exactly the kind of thrilling and provocative theater that we want to share with audiences @sohoplace and we are delighted to be partnering with the RSC and Good Chance on such an extraordinary production.”