THE WEREWOLF

Set in a medieval fairytale village on the brink of civil unrest, where whispers spread that wolves are out on the periphery, we follow a Young Priest who is desperate to keep people faithful to the Church. One day, as people start to disappear, the head Inquisitor seizes on the panic - not to protect the villagers, but to tighten his grip on power, line pockets, and sell the illusion of safety. What follows is a journey through the lies, deceit and double crossing that goes on behind closed doors, all the while that wolves are coming closer. 

crew

writer | director | producer: Ivantiy Novak

costume designer: Maya Dairan

original soundtrack: Anastasiia Kosishcheva & Akym Sytnyk

associate costume designer & tailor: Sandra Ingeburg Erika Stößer

lighting design 

sound & tech: Eliska Van Lelyveld

film & BTS: David Igor Rumianseu

marketing consultant: William Haydon

associate choreographer: Mohit Mathur

set-builder: Dmytro Cheban

photography: Daryna Mala

supported by 

UAID International

AUGB London 

The Ukrainian Welcome Centre

cast

Young Priest - Lauren Stones

Inquisitor - Ivantiy Novak

Fon Baron / Racoon / Sir Mr Wolf  - Will Tusker

Old Miller / Compte / Wolf / Lord 

debut

Golden Goose Theatre, London Feb 2026

transferred 

The Space Theatre, London Feb 2026

cherry-picks

Of the collected anonymous responses, 80% gave the show ‘highly recommended,’ with over 92% praising the writing, staging and relevance of the material today.

«Moving. Relevant. Deeply topical. Fantastic.»

«It was genius the way each character came alive with so few props.»

«Fantastic political satire... with a dark twist.»

«A real journey to decipher the truth.»

«You might not fully understand it. But by God it understands us.»

«Lovely stuff, that!»

the project

I began working on the script in late February of 2024, with numerous drafts and re-drafts materialising over a 2-year period. Throughout the process, the work was tested through staged private readings, with feedback offered by a variety of sources including ex-Bureau-in-Chief of BBC Moscow. I called in numerous favours from colleagues from Drama Centre and Central School of Speech & Drama.

In September 2024, struck a quid pro quo with Baron’s Court Theatre in order to secure space for an R&D.

In order to authenticate the fairy-tale medieval setting of the play I sourced authentic Venetian commedia masks, had costumes designed and sewn by two up-and-coming fashion designers in Germany, and commissioned an original soundtrack by two Ukrainian composers. Due to the budget limitations as well as spatial constraints at Golden Goose Theatre, I made the decision to work with minimalist staging, relying on Berkovian expressionist movement, mime and Vakhtangov’s magical realism as a way to draw out the imagery. The musical score written by Anastasiia Kosishcheva & Akym Sytnyk served to underscore atmosphere as well as scenic changes, while close collaboration with LX designer Eliska Van Lelyveld and builder Dmytro Cheban allowed me to use lighting and a specially built cross to draw on shadows as a way to play with time and threat within the story. 

During pre-production a young filmmaker, David Igor Rumianseu, came aboard to shoot a documentary about the behind-the-scenes creative process. It was to serve as both a marketing tool, as well as preparation for the future development of The Werewolf. We co-worked together on the approach, with David shooting footage during the rehearsals, organising interviews with cast and crew, and filming the performance nights. 

We entered a strict rehearsal period from mid-January to early-Feb 2026 centred around physical movement, Lecoq mask, Vakhtangov and the Malmgren-Laban system of character analysis. This allowed me to stretch out the farcical medieval roots of the piece, thread them through modernist dialogue and stage it in an enclosed space. Extensive work was done on the characterisation, with radical choices having to be made spontaneously due to deadlines, actors’ availability, cast changes and rehearsal space constraints.

A script-in-hand showcase at The Old Red Lion Theatre on the 1st February allowed us to test the waters before opening night the following week. We debuted at Golden Goose Theatre on the 10th February 2026 for a 3-day run before transferring to The Space theatre the following week for the 18th & 19th Feb.