COW | DEER
World Premiere Royal Court Theatre Autumn 2025
Directed by Katie Mitchell, written by Nina Segal, and co-created/sound-designed by Melanie Wilson, with design by Alex Eales and lighting by Prema Mehta.
A co-production with the National Theatre of Greece
Produced by Charlie Bunker for Impossible Producing
★★★★ ‘The calf’s birth could be the most captivating stage scene of the year.’ @guardian.
‘A daring, wordless evocation of the perils and pleasures of animal life...a powerful experiment in the potency of sound.’ @theobserveruk.
★★★★ The Guardian
★★★★ Time Out
★★★★ BroadwayWorld
★★★★ Camden New Journal
Wind in tall trees. White sky. Rain soon. Hooves on earth. Twigs. Snap. Wait. Listen.
A new experiment in performance from Katie Mitchell, Nina Segal and Melanie Wilson.
Using only sound and no words, a quartet of performers and foley artists evoke the lives of two animals – a cow and a deer. Cow | Deer is an invitation to enter the more-than-human world.
PERFORMERS - Pandora Colin, Tom Espiner, Tatenda Matsvai, Ruth Sullivan
Co-creation - Katie Mitchell, Nina Segal, Melanie Wilson
Sound artist - Melanie Wilson
Design - Alex Eales
Lighting - Prema Mehta
Foley score - Tom Espiner, Ruth Sullivan
Associate sound design & operation - Marie Zschommler
Casting - Saffeya Shebli
Assistant production manager - Tiffany Ledesma
Costume supervisor - Karen Hopkinson
Stage manager - Louise Quartermain
Deputy stage manager - Lucy Bradford
Lead producer - Charlie Bunker
📸 @camilla_greenwell