Channel 4 and See-Saw Films are developing a television adaptation of “Shifters,” the acclaimed play by Congolese-British writer Benedict Lombe, as the stage production prepares to cross the Atlantic for a run at A24’s Cherry Lane Theatre.
Lombe will adapt the work herself, marking her first foray into television. The project is currently in development and has not yet been greenlit.
The play follows Dre, a British man of Nigerian heritage raised on a council estate, and Des, the middle-class daughter of a neurologist. The two meet through their school debating society and reunite eight years after their relationship ends, with the story moving between the present and shared memories. The TV version is expected to be more expansive than the stage production.
“Shifters” originally premiered at London’s Bush Theatre before transferring to the West End, where it attracted a notable circle of admirers including Idris Elba, Little Simz and Maya Jama, all of whom came on as producers. The play made history for Lombe, who became the first Black British woman to receive an Olivier Award nomination in the Best New Play category and only the third to have a production on the West End.
The West End production starred Tosin Cole, known for “Supacell,” and Heather Agyepong. It has not yet been confirmed whether either will reprise their roles in the television adaptation. For its upcoming Cherry Lane run, Agyepong returns alongside “A Discovery of Witches” actor Daniel Ezra, who steps in as Dre.
Lombe is a rising voice in British theater. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and raised in the UK, she won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize in 2022 for her debut play “Lava,” also staged at the Bush Theatre.