Rhys Warrington's Monument brings a Welsh village's argument over how to remember its own tragedy to the Royal Court for the first time.
Monument, the first play by Rhys Warrington, opens at the Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square on Thursday 3 December 2026 and runs to Saturday 23 January 2027. Francesca Goodridge directs.
The play is set in a Welsh farming community after a tragedy that was reported around the world. The village must now decide together what shape a memorial should take.
The argument over the memorial is an argument about who owns the grief. Warrington stages the village arguing it out, and leaves the finished memorial offstage. The play is built around the chorus of an entire village.
The Royal Court has staged first plays for 70 years, and it built its reputation on the risk of a new writer.
Monument holds the theatre’s Christmas and new-year slot, which this season goes to a writer with no earlier production. Through December it overlaps with The Afronauts, so two first-time playwrights share the building.