London, Monday 9 November 2026
Ninety years after Federico García Lorca was murdered by fascists, his unfinished play Comedia sin título is being reimagined for today. Wood for the Graves is a darkly comic new 30-minute play by James Corley, directed by Harry Mackrill and presented by Nisha Oza for independent theatre company The Lot. It runs as a staged workshop at London’s Calder Bookshop & Theatre on 4 and 5 December 2026, with tickets just £5.
1. It picks up where Lorca was forced to stop
Lorca began writing Comedia sin título amid growing political unrest in Spain, but completed only the first act before he was murdered by fascists in August 1936. His political sympathies, his sexuality and his links with liberal intellectuals had made him a target for right-wing factions. Even his writing was seen as dangerous: according to The New York Review of Books, Ramón Ruiz Alonso, one of the men involved in his arrest, reportedly declared that Lorca “did more damage by his pen than others did with their guns.” In the 1930s, Lorca challenged theatre to look beyond its own walls and face up to a world in turmoil. Corley’s play takes that unfinished challenge and runs with it.
2. A theatre under siege, inside and out
In Wood for the Graves, a director refuses to raise the curtain while the audience demands a show. Outside, the streets are sliding into chaos, and as revolutionaries close in on the theatre, the line between performance and reality starts to collapse. The play blends biting satire, absurdist comedy and political drama to expose the tension between artistic ambition, comfortable escapism and a world in crisis. One line neatly sums up the dilemma: “You go to the theatre to see what is happening, not what is happening to us.” The title itself evokes the mounting human cost of political violence, with a haunting echo of Lorca’s own fate.
3. Lorca’s characters, relocated to modern London
Corley moves the action to contemporary London and radically reimagines Lorca’s characters for the present day. There’s a wealthy theatregoer who won’t be denied his evening’s entertainment, a psychotherapist convinced she knows best and an investor wondering where his £20,000 has gone. They’re joined by an actress clinging to her theatrical glory and a Macbeth haunted by time, all caught up in a rebellion they can neither control nor escape. Through them, the play pokes at the contradictions of modern theatre, its audiences and the society around it. It questions not just audience complacency, but also the idealism of artists who believe they can change the world.
4. A strong cast and an experienced creative team
The seven-strong cast includes Lucy Cohu (Broadchurch, Torchwood, The Queen’s Sister) and Alisha Bailey (Silent Witness, Doctor Who). They’re joined by Tom Stuart, Jimena Larraguivel, Joshua McCord, Tyler Pringle and Paksie Vernon. Writer James Corley’s film The Scene screened at BFI Flare and was shortlisted for the Iris Prize Best British Short, while director Harry Mackrill was Associate Director on Angels in America at the National Theatre. The trio behind The Lot previously made What It Means at Wilton’s Music Hall, which earned four stars from The Guardian, and World’s End at the King’s Head Theatre, named Theatre Weekly’s Off West End Production of the Year.
5. A short, affordable night out with lots to talk about
At around 30 minutes long and with tickets at just £5, this is an easy one to slot into a December evening. It’s presented as a staged workshop in a very small venue, so capacity is extremely limited and it’s worth booking sooner rather than later. There are three chances to see it: Friday 4 December at 8pm, and Saturday 5 December at 6.30pm or 8pm. The Lot describe theatre as “a public act” that brings people together to question the world, and this piece asks what responsibility theatre has to the society around it. Expect to leave with plenty to discuss over a drink on The Cut afterwards.
Tickets and info
Wood for the Graves
Calder Bookshop & Theatre, 51 The Cut, London SE1
Friday 4 December 2026, 8pm
Saturday 5 December 2026, 6.30pm and 8pm
Running time: approximately 30 minutes
Tickets: £5
Format: staged workshop
Nearest Underground: Southwark (Jubilee line), about three minutes’ walk. Waterloo and Waterloo East are around five to seven minutes’ walk.