As long as a man can dream, he can push the limits of what’s possible.
The Royal Court Theatre and Nica Burns announce the full cast and creative team for the World Premiere of The Afronauts, a Zambian space race epic by award-winning writer Ryan Calais Cameron (For Black Boys..., Retrograde) who will co-direct with Monique Touko (Jaja's African Hair Braiding, Marie and Rosetta). The Afronauts marks the finale of the Royal Court Theatre's 70th anniversary Downstairs season, and will run from Saturday 14 November to Saturday 19 December, with press night on Monday 23 November 2026. The cast was first revealed last night at a special launch party event hosted by the Royal Court in collaboration with The Rendition.
The Afronauts is set in Zambia, 1964: the space race has a new contender.
As the world's great powers set their sights on the moon, a schoolteacher gathers a group of misfit dreamers and trains them for lift-off. The Afronauts tells the true(ish) story of the Zambian Space Program, and a nation's defiant dream to reach for the stars.
The international cast brings together Black British and Black African talent led by television, film and stage star Lucian Msamati (Game of Thrones, Slow Horses, Conclave, Waiting for Godot) as Edward, and Ama Qamata, seen in leading roles in the Netflix series Blood & Water and the multi-award-winning indie hit Fight Like a Girl, who will be making her UK stage debut as Matha. The company is completed by Ivanno Jeremiah, who reunites with Ryan Calais Cameron following his critically acclaimed performance as Sidney Poitier in Retrograde and will play Simon, Chomba S. Taulo (The Book of Mormon) as Ben, Munashe Chirisa (The Play That Goes Wrong) as Cheelo, Pamela Nomvete (Skeleton Crew) as Grace, Lukwesa Mwamba (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) as Liji, and Prince Kundai (Limp Wrist and the Iron Fist) as David.
The play's story of a nation reaching for the impossible has clearly resonated with the company. The cast were asked: "The Afronauts is set in 1964, when the world powers had their sights set on landing on the moon, a feat that was once thought impossible. Is there anything that once felt impossible to you that you have now achieved, and what pushed you to reach your personal moon? What is your moon now?"
Msamati looked back to where it all began: "I am living that kid's dream, thirty years later. His struggles and stumbles were always leading him to the moon. He always had a North Star."
Nomvete credited a shift in outlook: "What pushed me was hope and interacting with human beings who always looked at the bigger picture and at 60 it finally clicked." Looking ahead, she said: "My moon now is where the magic of finding the beauty in every project I do, will take me. Hopefully it's never ending." Mwamba spoke of a moment that changed how she saw herself: "I got a glimpse of what's possible. And what I'm capable of. It taught me to have self-belief, which will always be my moon."
Kundai is an optimist: "I'm a firm believer in that nothing is impossible." As for his own moon, he said: "I have several. I have lots, in fact - call me Jupiter (yes, that's a dad joke. I like dad jokes)."
The creative team includes Set Designer Soutra Gilmour, Costume Designer Kinnetia Isidore, Lighting Designer Ryan Day, Composer and Sound Designer Khalil Madovi, Video Designer Dick Straker, Movement Director Kloé Dean, Wigs, Hair and Makeup Designer Cynthia De La Rosa, Casting Director Heather Basten CDG CSA, Dramaturg Gillian Greer, Cultural Dramaturg Mwansa Phiri and Assistant Director Danielle Kassaraté.
When asked why The Afronauts was a show he could not say no to, Msamati's answer was clear: “Ryan Calais Cameron, Monique Touko and Edward Makuka Nkoloso. Dreamers, all. Believers in glorious quests. What’s not to love?
For Mwamba, it was the opportunity to be part of something greater: "I said yes because the Afronauts will be a part of the cultural renaissance for the African diaspora; it honours and celebrates the transcending power of imagination and dreams on a cosmic level, and so much more!"
