Theatre News

Suchet & McGovern Complicit with Old Vic\’s Dreyfuss

David Suchet (pictured) and Elizabeth McGovern will join Richard Dreyfuss in the world premiere of Joe Sutton’s new political drama Complicit, directed by his Hollywood peer Kevin Spacey at the Old Vic (See News, 3 Nov 2008), where it runs in-the-round from 19 January to 21 February 2009 (previews from 7 January).

In the three-hander, Dreyfuss plays Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ben Kritzer, who finds himself hauled in front of a Supreme Court Special Prosecutor where he faces the dilemma of defending his belief in the freedom of the press or protecting his family.

David Suchet is best known to TV fans for his portrayal of Agatha Christie’s Poirot. He was seen in the West End last year in The Last Confession, which transferred to the Theatre Royal Haymarket from Chichester Festival. His other major West End credits include Amadeus (which also transferred to Broadway), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Oleanna and Man and Boy.

Elizabeth McGovern was on stage in Chichester this year playing Jackie Kennedy to Robert Lindsay’s Aristotle Onassis in Aristo. The actress, who has lived in the UK for many years, is best known for her many film credits including The House of Mirth, Wings of a Dove, The Handmaid’s Tale, Racing with the Moon, Once upon a Time in America and Ragtime. Her other UK stage credits include Hurlyburly, Three Days of Rain and Dinner With Friends.

Complicit marks Spacey’s first directing credit at the Old Vic since he launched his reign there with Cloaca, which opened to poor reviews in September 2004. The new production is designed by Rob Howell, with lighting by Howard Harrison, video by Jon Driscoll and sound by Simon Baker for Autograph.

– by Terri Paddock