Anouilh Comedy Revived at King's Head

Fifty years after it was first seen at the Globe Theatre (now renamed the Gielgud), Jean Anouilh's Ring Round the Moon is back in London. A production, starring Barbara Murray, opens tonight at the fringe The King's Head Theatre for a limited four-week season.

The comedy takes place on a seemingly enchanted evening at an aristocratic ball in pre-war France. Hugo and Frederic are identical twins, yet beneath their astonishing physical similarities, the two are very different men. Hugo is fascinating but heartless; Frederic, insecure and diffident. In his attempt to lure his brother away from what he sees as a ridiculous infatuation, Hugo tries to manipulate the events at the ball. His outrageous plan is soon wildly out of control and alerts the attention of Madame Desmortes, the brothers' perceptive aunt. She decides that a very different conclusion should be reached.

Murray plays Madame Desmortes. Her extensive career includes many classic plays in the West End and Chichester. She recently played Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest at the Leicester Haymarket. The rest of the cast are Stash Kirkbride (Hugo/Fred), Emma Ferguson (Isabelle), David Gwillim, Dominic Gray, Rose Wadham, Josie Kidd, Apple Brook, Patrick Lennox, Guy Manning, Claire Francis.

Ring Round the Moon is directed by Phil Wilmott who has just directed the first new staging of the multi award-winning musical Rent in Dublin. Wilmott is an associate director of the Battersea Arts Centre where he has staged many acclaimed productions, including Crime and Punishment and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Ring Round the Moon is adapted by Christopher Fry, who also translated Anouilh's The Lark. The King's Head production is designed by Nigel Hook, with costumes by Andri Korniotis, choreography by Darren Royston, lighting by Hansjorg Schmit and sound by Adam Keeper.

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