Theatre News

Cast: Hothouse, Even Stillness, Menier Travels & Campbell Moore in Chimerica

Further casting details have been announced for several upcoming plays.

In Jamie Lloyd‘s upcoming production of Harold Pinter’s The Hothouse, John Heffernan, Harry Melling, Clive Rowe, Christopher Timothy and Indira Varma joining the previously announced Simon Russell Beale and John Simm.

First performed at the Hampstead Theatre in 1980, The Hothouse, is set on Christmas Day in a nameless state-run mental institution where the inmates are subjected to a tirade of mindless cruelty. A maniacal and self-obsessed leader breeds a contagion of hierarchical savagery amongst his staff, who thrive on a noxious diet of delusion and deceit. The last major London production was at the National Theatre in 2007.

John Heffernan’s (Lush) theatre credits include Love and Information (Royal Court), The Physicists (Donmar Warehouse) and She Stoops to Conquer, Emperor And Galilean, After The Dance and The Habit of Art (National Theatre). Harry Melling’s (Lamb) theatre credits include Smack Family Robinson (Rose Theatre, Kingston), I am a Camera (Southwark Playhouse) and When Did You Last See My Mother? (Trafalgar Studios). He is best known on screen as Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter films.

Clive Rowe’s (Tubb) theatre credits include The Ladykillers (West End & UK Tour), Kiss Me Kate (CFT & Old Vic) and No Naughty Bits (Hampstead Theatre). He won an Olivier Award for his performance in Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre. Christopher Timothy’s (Lobb) theatre credits include The Living Room (Jermyn Street Theatre), The Diary of Anne Frank (York Theatre Royal/UK Tour) and Season’s Greetings (UK Tour). He is best known on screen as Dr Mac in Doctors and James Herriot in All Creatures Great & Small.

Indira Varma’s (Miss Cutts) theatre credits include Dance of Death, Twelfth Night, The Vortex and Privates on Parade (Donmar Warehouse), Hysteria (Bath Theatre Royal) and Ingredient X, The Vertical Hour and The Country (Royal Court). Her TV credits include What Remains, Hunted, Silk, World Without End, Human Target, Luther and Hustle.

Running as part of Jamie Lloyd‘s Trafalgar Transformed season, The Hothouse is designed by Soutra Gilmour, and plays at the Trafalgar Studios 1 from 9 May to 3 August 2013 (previews from 4 May).


Nadia Latif will direct Game of Thrones star Joe Dempsie and Lara Rossi in Even Stillness Breathes Softly Against a Brick Wall, which will run at the Soho Theatre Upstairs from 30 May to 14 June 2013 (previews from 28 May).

Brad Birch‘s new play charts the turbulent descent of two people, whose lives are an orchestra of alarm clocks, traffic lights, advertising, emails, credit cards, meal deals, phone calls, breaking news, loyalty cards, wi-fi, meetings, meetings, meetings.

Joe Dempsie is known for his TV roles, which include Gendry in Game of ThronesSkins, The Fades, This Is England 86, The Damned United and Murder. Lara Rossi’s stage credits include The Alchemist (Liverpool Playhouse), 13, Emperor and Galilean (Natioinal) and Women, Power and Politics (Tricycle). 

Designed by Lorna Ritchie with lighting by Gary Bowman and sound design by Simon Slater, Even Stillness Breathes Softly Against a Brick Wall runs at the Soho Theatre until 14 June 2013.


David Bamber, Jonathan Hyde, Iain Mitchell and Gregory Gudgeon will star in Christopher Luscombe‘s revival of  Graham Greene’s Travels with My Aunt at the Menier Chocolate Factory, which runs from 8 May to 29 June 2013 (previews from 2 May 2013).

In the play, adapted by Giles Havergal from Greene’s 1969 novel, four actors portray a host of characters in the story of retired bank manager Henry Pulling and his globetrotting adventures with his Aunt Augusta.
Jonathan Hyde’s theatre credits include Jumpers, Sleep With Me, The Duchess of Malfi (National), King Lear, The Seagull, Romeo & Juliet (RSC), The Kings Speech (UK Tour and West End) and Antigone (Old Vic). TV credits include Foyle’s War, Spooks and The Queen. David Bamber’s theatre credits include Sweet Smell of Success (Arcola); Betty Blue Eyes (Novello) and Absurd Person Singular (Garrick). TV credits include The Paradise, The Hollow Crown, Borgias and Psychoville.

Iain Mitchell’s theatre credits include La Cage aux Folles (Menier Chocolate Factory and West End), Birdsong (Comedy), and Richard II (Old Vic), as well as more than tne productions at the National. Gregory Gudgeon‘s stage credits include Equally Divided and Time of My Life (Watford Palace), Hamlet (Prague Shakespeare Festival) and Blue Remembered Hills (Chichester).

The production is designed by Colin Falconer, with lighting design by Oliver Fenwick, sound design by Gregory Clarke and original music by Malcolm McKee.


Stephen Campbell Moore and Claudie Blakley will star in the upcoming Almeida Theatre/Headlong co-production of Chimerica, which runs at the Almeida Theatre from 28 May to 6 July 2013 (previews from 20 May).

The world premiere of Lucy Kirkwood‘s play is directed by Lyndsey Turner. Tiananmen Square, 1989.  As tanks roll through Beijing and soldiers hammer on his hotel door, Joe – a young American photojournalist – captures a piece of history. When a cryptic message is left in a Beijing newspaper more than 20 years later, Joe is driven to discover the truth behind the unknown hero he captured on film. Who was he? What happened to him? And could he still be alive?

Stephen Campbell Moore plays Joe. His stage credits include Berenice (Donmar Warehouse), Clybourne Park (Royal Court), All My Sons (Apollo Theatre) and The History Boys (National Theatre). TV credits include The Wrong Mans, Hunted, Just Henry, The Titanic and Lark Rise to Candleford. Claudie Blakley plays Tessa. Her stage credits include The Lady from the Sea (Almeida), Macbeth, King Lear (Sheffield Crucible) and Di and Viv and Rose (Hampstead Theatre).

Set designs are by Es Devlin with costumes by Christina Cunningham, lighting by Tim Lutkin, sound by Carolyn Downing and video design by Finn Ross.

Playing alongside Campbell Moore and Blakley are: Elizabeth Chan (Zhang Chen), Vera Chok (Michelle Cheuk/Mary Wang), Karl Collins (David/Peter/Paul/Officer), Trevor Cooper (Frank), Nancy Crane (Martha/Doreen/Senator/Maria Dubieki/Mrs Krupke/Susannah Schofield), Sean Gilder (Mel Stanwyck), Sarah Lam (Feng Meihui/Old Ming Sheng), Andrew Leung (Young Lin/Benny), David K. S. Tse (Zhang Xhao/Pengfei) and Benedict Wong (Zhang Lin).