Theatre News

Plays Cast: New War Horse Company, Almeida Bernarda

8 November 2011

A new cast takes over in War Horse at the New London Theatre from next week (16 November 2011). Jack Holden will play Albert Narracott with Rachel Sanders as Rose Narracott, Richard Cant as Friedrich Muller, and Alex Avery as Captain Nicholls.

War Horse follows Albert’s treacherous mission at the beginning of World War One to find his beloved horse, Joey, who was sold to the calvary and shipped to France.

The new cast also features: Joshua Blake, Pascale Burgess, Sam Clark, Kate Colebrook, Emily Cooper, Matt Costain, Ewen Cummins, Danny Dalton, Matthew Forbes, Bob Fox, Thomas Goodridge, Owain Gwynn, Robert Horwell, Christian Jenner, Luke Jerdy, Curtis Jordan, Louise Kempton, Dominic Leeder, Henry Maynard, Shaun McKee, Steve Nicolson, Christopher Patrick Nolan, Jack Parker, Malcolm Ridley, Mat Ruttle, William Rycroft, Rachel Sanders, Eliot Short, Meghan Treadway, John Trindle, Adam Welsh and Tom Wilton.

War Horse premiered at the NT Olivier in October 2007, returning for a second run the following year and
transferring to the West End’s New London theatre in April 2009. The production is co-directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom
Morris and designed by Rae Smith, with lighting by Paule Constable,
movement by Toby Sedgwick and music by Adrian Sutton.

It’s currently taking bookings until 16 February 2013.

The full cast has been announced for Bijan Sheibani‘s forthcoming revival of Federico Garcia Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba which opens on 26 January 2012 (previews from 19 January) at the Almeida Theatre.

The cast includes Iranian stage and screen actor Shohreh Aghdashloo as Bernarda Alba alongside Pandora Colin, Amanda Hale, Seline Hizli, Sarah Solemani and Hara Yannas as Bernarda’s daughters, with support from Jasmina Daniel, Mia Soteriou, and Badria Timimi.

Lorca’s play centers around Bernarda Alba and her five daughters who are confined to eight years of mourning for their deceased father. Bernarda’s oppression of her daughters threatens their freedom and causes jealousy and suppressed sexuality to rise to the surface.

The House of Bernarda Alba is Aghdashloo’s British stage debut. Her other credits include Sajida in The House of Saddam for the BBC/HBO, a role for which she won the 2009 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a mini-series or movie. She was named Best Supporting Actress by the Independent Spirit Awards, the New York Film Critics, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association for her role in House of Sand and Fog.

Bijan Sheibani currently serves as associate director at the National Theatre. His directing credits include The Kitchen, Greenland, and Our Class at the National Theatre, Eurydice and The Brother’s Size at the Young Vic, Ghosts of Those Who Return at the Arcola, Gone Too Far at the Royal Court, and Moonlight at the Donmar Warehouse.

The House of Bernarda Alba runs at the Almeida until 10 March 2012.

– Natalie Generalovich