1st Night Photos: TV Faces Peep into Pig & Pursuit

Fans of Peep Show and Gavin and Stacey were in for a treat at the West End’s Trafalgar Studios last night (27 May 2008, previews from 16 May), where stars of the two television series – including David Mitchell, Alison Steadman, Rob Brydon and Ruth Jones – turned up to cheer on colleagues Robert Webb (of Peep Show’s Mitchell and Webb) and Joanna Page (Stacey from Gavin and Stacey) as they trod the boards in the UK premiere of Neil LaBute’s comedy Fat Pig, which is running for a limited season until 6 September (See News, 4 Apr 2008).

Webb, making his West End debut, and Page are joined in the cast by two other familiar TV faces: Kris Marshall (My Family, Love Actually, the BT commercials) and Ella Smith (Sold). In the comedy, Tom (Webb) has fallen for Helen (Smith), a bright, funny, sexy young woman who just happens to be plus sized-and then some – which provokes constant ribbing from his friends (Marshall and Page).

TO SCROLL THROUGH ALL OF FAT PIG’s 1st NIGHT PHOTOS,
JUST CLICK ON THE “NEXT >” LINKS BELOW THE FOLLOWING FRAME.

** Our Whatsonstage.com Outing to FAT PIG on 1 July 2008 – including an EXCLUSIVE post-show Q&A with the cast – is now SOLD OUT! – click here to join the waiting list! **

First seen Off-Broadway in 2004, the UK premiere of Fat Pig is directed by the author. American Neil LaBute was last represented in the West End by Some Girls, which starred Friends’ David Schwimmer in 2005, and a revival of The Shape of Things with Hollywood’s Alicia Witt in 2004. His plays The Mercy Seat, The Distance from Here, Bash and The Shape of Things have all had premiere runs at London’s Almeida Theatre, while This Is How It Goes was seen at the Donmar Warehouse in 2005. His films include In the Company of Men, Your Friends and Neighbors, Nurse Betty, Possession, The Wicker Man and adaptations of The Shape of Things and Bash.

For 1st Night Photos, our Whatsonstage.com photographer Dan Wooller was on hand for Fat Pig’s post-show party at Stanza along with the company, author/director and other first night guests. Fat Pig is produced by Howard Panter for Ambassador Theatre Group and Broadway’s Barry Weissler, responsible for the current long-running revival of Chicago in both New York and London.

TO SCROLL THROUGH ALL OF THE COMMON PURSUIT’s 1st NIGHT PHOTOS,
JUST CLICK ON THE “NEXT >” LINKS BELOW THE FOLLOWING FRAME.

After the Fat Pig party last night (previews from 9 May), Wooller headed to Southwark to congratulate the all-star cast of Fiona Laird’s revival of Simon Gray’s 1984 comedy The Common Pursuit runs at the Menier Chocolate Factory (See News, 17 Apr 2008). Nigel Harman, James Dreyfus and The League of Gentleman’s Reece Shearsmith star in Gray’s play charting the post-university progress of a group of Cambridge undergraduates who launch a literary publication, The Common Pursuit.

The cast also features Robert Portal, Ben Caplan and Mary Stockley. The production designed by Anthony Lamble, with lighting by Hartley TA Kemp, and presented by David Babani for Chocolate Factory Productions. It continues until 20 July 2008.

– by Terri Paddock