Amanda Hale leads cast of radicalisation play Martyr

Casting has been announced for the UK premiere of Marius von Mayenburg's play Martyr, which opens at the Unicorn Theatre in September ahead of a short national tour.

Amanda Hale will lead the cast in the production which explores the notion of radicalisation and liberal multi-cultulralism in the classroom. Hale is most well known for her roles in BBC Dramas Ripper Street and The White Queen and her stage roles including The Nether (Royal Court) and The Glass Menagerie (Apollo).

She will be joined by Flaminia Cinque (Bridget Jones – The Edge of Reason), Kriss Dosanjh (Rafta Rafta), Mark Lockyer (London Road), Brian Lonsdale (The Pitman Painters), Daniel O'Keefe (professional debut), Farshid Rokey (Mogadishu) and Jessye Romeo (Dirty Sexy Things).

Martyr director and artistic director of Actors Touring Company, Ramin Gray said: "If the defining event of our time is the clash between the fundamentalist and liberal perspective, then Martyr is the play for today … theatre not only reflects but interrogates our social structures and values through humour, provocation and conflict."

Artistic director of the Unicorn, Purni Morell added: "For me, theatre has always been a place for debate … Martyr raises a number of questions and ideas: is it ever possible for tolerance to go too far, are there things you should fight for, how can we understand each other better."

Martyr is a co-production from the ACT and Unicorn Theatre.

The production previews at the Bristol Old Vic 8 to 12 September before opening at the Unicorn Theatre 17 September. Martyr will then travel to Oxford, Edinburgh and Plymouth.

This announcement comes after the cancellation of a show from the National Youth Theatre tackling similar themes. Read the full story here.