The Unbelievers
by Nick Payne
directed by Knud Adams
with Lauren Ambrose, Jaspal Binning, Brittany Bradford, Jack DiFalco, Marjan Neshat, Tom Riley, Nina Ross, Hadi Tabbal, Elizabeth Yeoman
OFF-BROADWAY AT
New York City Center Stage I
Performances begin October 13, 2026
Faith means believing in something. Especially when it feels impossible. As the years go by and the mystery of the sudden disappearance of Miriam and David’s teenage son remains unsolved, their blended family must figure out how to go on, relearning how to live through the ups and downs of ordinary days in their altered world.
From the Tony and Olivier Award-nominated writer Nick Payne (Constellations, Incognito) and the Tony-nominated director Knud Adams (English, Primary Trust), comes this poignant and disarmingly funny new play about the power of hope.
Major support for The Unbelievers is provided by Regina D. Kessler.
Cast
Lauren Ambrose
Miriam Wright
Lauren Ambrose is known for her celebrated performance as Eliza Doolittle in Lincoln Center Theater’s Broadway revival of My Fair Lady (Tony nomination, Outer Critics Circle Award, Grammy, Drama League nominations).
She made her London stage debut in Sam Shepard’s Buried Child at the Royal National Theater and her Broadway debut in Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of Clifford Odets’ Awake and Sing! (Drama Desk Award Outstanding Ensemble). Ambrose starred in the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (Drama League Award nomination) and returned as Ophelia in Hamlet. She played Queen Marie in the Broadway revival of Exit the King.
Her film credits include Caddo Lake, Where the Wild Things Are, Psycho Beach Party, Wanderlust, The River, Can’t Hardly Wait, and In & Out. Her TV credits include her memorable performance in HBO’s “Six Feet Under,” for which she earned multiple Emmy nominations and SAG awards, Apple TV+’s “Servant” (Critics Choice Award Nomination), “Torchwood,” and “Yellowjackets.”
Jaspal Binning
PC Jay Shah/Anil Seth
Jaspal Binning is a New York-based English-Indian actor, director, producer and creator. He is thrilled to be making his MTC debut! He has been fortunate to work at The Flea, New York Theatre Workshop, Signature Theatre and EST over the years.
His TV credits include the Netflix Series “Brown Nation”, the NBC series “New Amsterdam” and HBO’s “The Newsroom”. He is also a lead actor and director on the Emmy-nominated Amazon series “Doomsday” for which he won the Best Director Award at the New York Television Festival.
On the silver screen, he appeared as a lead in the award-winning independent movies In The Weeds, American Warrior, and the upcoming movie Zoe.
He wants to thank his Mum, Dad, Nani, Isaac, Chad, Mel, Abraham, Donald, Alex and Liz for their love and support over the years. This is for you!
He is represented by Rosier Artist Management and McLean-Williams Management. @jsbinning
Brittany Bradford
PC Angela Fisher/Mia Olsson
Broadway: Bernhardt/Hamlet. Off Broadway: The Comeuppance (Obie Award, Signature Theatre), Business Ideas (Clubbed Thumb), Wedding Band (Obie Award, TFANA), Fefu and Her Friends (TFANA), Mac Beth (Hunter Theater Project), Merrily We Roll Along (Roundabout/Fiasco Theater). Regional: Alien Girls (Old Globe), Leroy & Lucy (Steppenwolf). TV: “Julia” (HBO Max), “The Terror” (AMC), “The Watcher” (Netflix), “The Gilded Age” (HBO Max), “Dead Ringers” (Amazon), “Fire Country” (CBS), “Fear the Walking Dead” (AMC), “New Amsterdam” (NBC), “Chicago Med” (NBC), and “Escorted” (Amazon, upcoming). Film: The Same Storm (dir. Peter Hedges), Floating Carousel, August (dir. Nick Borenstein, upcoming). CLASSIX member and HomeBase Theater Collective co-founder. Training: Juilliard.
Jack DiFalco
Benjamin
Broadway credits include: The Ferryman, Marvin’s Room, Torch Song. Other theatre: Grief Camp (Atlantic), Inspired by True Events (Out of the Box Theatrics), Yen (MCC), Mercury Fur (The New Group), Let The Right One In (Berkeley Rep), Sing Street (Huntington), Lord of the Flies (Denver Center). Clive Barnes Foundation nominee for New Emerging Talent in Theatre. Film credits include: The Goldfinch, Paterno, One Percent More Humid, Bully, Silo, No Fear, Last Straw. Television credits include: “Daredevil,” “Chicago P.D.,” “FBI,” “Prodigal Son,” “Monsterland,” “Blue Bloods,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “The OA.” Upcoming: the film Empire City opposite Gerard Butler, and a special guest star role on “Best Medicine.”
Marjan Neshat
DC Elizabeth Hawkins/Lorraine
Marjan Neshat received a Tony Award nomination for her critically acclaimed performance in the Pulitzer Prize-winning English, for which she also received a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut and a Drama League Award nomination.
Off-Broadway, Marjan won the Obie Award for her role in English and a Drama Desk Award for her starring roles in both Pulitzer finalist Selling Kabul and English in the same season. Film credits include leading roles in the multi-award-winning Rockaway; Almost in Love, and Cry Funny Happy (Sundance). TV: most recently recurred as ‘Azita’ on season two of the hit Netflix series “The Night Agent.”
Tom Riley
David Wright
Tom Riley can be seen in Apple TV’s “Down Cemetery Road,” opposite Ruth Wilson and Emma Thompson. Recent credits include William Friedkin’s “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,” “The Nevers” for HBO, and Netflix’s limited series ”The Woman in the House” opposite Kristen Bell.
Previously, Tom starred in “Dark Heart” (ITV), “The Collection” (Amazon), “Monroe” (ITV), the limited series “Ill Behavior,” and for three seasons as Leonardo Da Vinci in David Goyer’s “Da Vinci’s Demons” (Starz).
Film credits include Extinction (Netflix) starring Lizzy Caplan; the ensemble comedy Ghost Light, the UK festival hit Starfish opposite Joanne Froggatt, Kill Your Friends with James Corden and Nicolas Hoult, and US festival hit Pushing Dead opposite James Roday Rodriguez.
Onstage appearances include Dancing at Lughnasa (National Theatre), Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia (Drama Desk nomination) on Broadway and Dry Powder (Hampstead Theatre) opposite Hayley Atwell.
Nina Ross
Nancy Khoury
Nina Ross (they/them) is a Brooklyn-based musician and actor. Broadway: To Kill A Mockingbird (Scout), The Iceman Cometh (Margie), The Hard Problem (Julia). Select Off-Broadway: Cold War Choir Practice (MCC), Shhhh (Atlantic Theater Company), Nina (Theaterlab), Winter’s Tale (The Public). Film/TV: Bad Monkey (Apple TV+), “Red Oaks” (Amazon Prime). Nina also doubles as a pop star known as Softee. @softeepopstar on all social media.
Hadi Tabbal
Rev. Karl Khoury
Hadi Tabbal originated the role of ‘Omid’ in the Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony-nominated play English on Broadway. Off-Broadway credits include Russian Troll Farm (Vineyard Theatre), The Vagrant Trilogy (The Public Theater) and English (Roundabout/Atlantic Theater Company, for which he won an Obie Award and was nominated for a Lucille Lortel (Best Ensemble). His regional credits include work at The Folger Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and the Humana Festival, among others. On television, Hadi starred as Amir Al-Raisani on NBC’s “The Brave” and will next be seen on “Powers: Origins” (Starz). Other TV credits include several guest appearances on major networks. Hadi holds an MFA in acting from The New School for Drama and is the recipient of the Fulbright Award.
Elizabeth Yeoman
Margaret Wright
Elizabeth is an English actress and a recent graduate of the Juilliard Drama Division. Theatre credits include And Then We Were No More (La MaMa), in which she made her off-Broadway debut, originating the role of Inmate in the world premiere by Tim Blake Nelson, directed by Mark Wing-Davey. She recently wrapped her feature film debut as the lead in the upcoming thriller Maze, directed by Tony Aloupis. Outside of acting, Elizabeth is an accomplished singer and pianist, and an experienced horseback rider. She is based in New York and London.
Lauren Ambrose
Miriam Wright
Jaspal Binning
PC Jay Shah/Anil Seth
Brittany Bradford
PC Angela Fisher/Mia Olsson
Jack DiFalco
Benjamin
Marjan Neshat
DC Elizabeth Hawkins/Lorraine
Tom Riley
David Wright
Nina Ross
Nancy Khoury
Hadi Tabbal
Rev. Karl Khoury
Elizabeth Yeoman
Margaret Wright
Creative
Nick Payne
Playwright
Nick Payne (Playwright). Theatre: If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet (Bush Theatre and Roundabout Theatre Company, New York), Wanderlust (Royal Court Theatre), Sophocles’ Electra (Gate Theatre), One Day When We Were Young (Paines Plough/Sheffield Theatres and Shoreditch Town Hall), Lay Down Your Cross (Hampstead Theatre), Constellations (Royal Court Theatre, Duke of York’s and UK tour, and Manhattan Theatre Club, New York), The Same Deep Water As Me (Donmar Warehouse, nominated for 2014 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy), Blurred Lines (The Shed, National Theatre), Incognito (Nabokov/Live Theatre, Newcastle and Manhattan Theatre Club, New York), The Art of Dying (Royal Court Theatre), Elegy (Donmar Warehouse), A Life (Broadway and Public Theater, nominated for 2020 Tony Award for Best Play). Film: The Sense of an Ending (adaptation of Julian Barnes’ Man Booker Prize winning novel for BBC Films/Origin Pictures), We Live in Time (A24/Studio Canal), Midwinter Break (adaptation of Bernard MacLaverty’s novel for Focus Features). TV: “Wanderlust” (Drama Republic for BBC One/Netflix). Awards: 2009 George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright, 2012 Harold Pinter Playwright’s Award, 2012 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play for Constellations.
Knud Adams
Director
Knud Adams (Director) is a Tony-nominated director of artful new plays. His world-premiere productions include the consecutive Pulitzer-winners English by Sanaz Toossi and Primary Trust by Eboni Booth, and the recent Blackburn-winner Cold War Choir Practice by Ro Reddick. His acclaimed Broadway debut of English was hailed by Variety as “one of the best plays of the decade.” Additional world premieres include: Jiehae Park’s The Aves, Yilong Liu’s The Book of Mountains and Seas, Grace Gardner’s I’m Revolting, Angela Hank’s Bodies They Ritual, Christopher Chen’s The Headlands, Eboni Booth’s Paris, Torrey Townsend’s The Workshop, Justin Kuritzkes’ Asshole, and Celine Song’s Tom & Eliza. His work has been celebrated on “Best of the Year” lists by The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, New York Magazine, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post.
Paul Steinberg
Scenic Design
Enver Chakartash
Costume Design
Masha Tsimring
Lighting Design
Sinan Refik Zafar
Sound Design
Will Butler
Original Songs
Cookie Jordan
Hair & Make-up Design
Deborah Hecht
Dialect and Vocal Coach
Caparelliotis Casting & Kelly Gillespie
Casting
Sara Sahin
Production Stage Manager
Nick Payne
Playwright
Knud Adams
Director
Paul Steinberg
Scenic Design
Enver Chakartash
Costume Design
Masha Tsimring
Lighting Design
Sinan Refik Zafar
Sound Design
Will Butler
Original Songs
Cookie Jordan
Hair & Make-up Design
Deborah Hecht
Dialect and Vocal Coach
Caparelliotis Casting & Kelly Gillespie
Casting
Sara Sahin
Production Stage Manager