Principal casting announced for UK tour of Flare Path

Casting has been announced for the upcoming national tour of Terence Rattigan's Flare Path, which opens in September.

Philip Franks (Swanson), Olivia Hallinan (Patricia), Leon Ockenden (Peter) and Alastair Whatley (Teddy) will head the cast of the production, which is directed by Justin Audibert.

Further casting is still to be announced.

Based on Rattigan's experiences as a tail gunner during World War II, the play centres on the life-and-death existence of the RAF bomber crews, and their wives and sweethearts who were left waiting their return.

Flare Path will open on 2 September 2015 (previews from 17 August) at Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne, before touring to Richmond, Bath, Malvern, Exeter, Cambridge, Salisbury, Winchester, Ipswich, Coventry, Liverpool and Guildford.

It's produced by Alastair Whatley for The Original Theatre Company and Anne-Marie Woodley and Jon Woodley for Birdsong Productions Ltd.

Meet the cast

Philip Franks is best known for his television roles in The Darling Buds of May and Heartbeat, as well as Martin Chuzzlewit and Bleak House. Recent theatre credits includes UK tours of The History Boys and The Rocky Horror Show. Franks has played many leading roles for the Royal Shakespeare Company including Bertram in All’s Well That Ends Well (directed by Trevor Nunn) and the title role in Hamlet (directed by Roger Michell).

Olivia Hallinan‘s numerous television credits include Laura Timmins in Larkrise To Candleford, Kim in the award-winning series Sugar Rush, Ellie Allard in Girls in Love and Liddy Blakeman in Murder in Suburbia. Recent theatre credits include Olga Prozorov in Three Sisters (Southwark Playhouse), Lotty in Lotty’s War (UK Tour) and Justine in Herding Cats (Hampstead Theatre and Theatre Royal Bath).

Leon Ockenden is best known for his television roles as Prince Serge De Bolotoff in Mr Selfridge, Hector Reid in Waterloo Road, Dr Chris Oakley in Heartbeat and Sam Taylor in Family Affairs. Recent theatre include Muswell Hill (Orange Tree Theatre), various roles in The Merchant Of Venice and As You Like It (both for Lamb Players) and Terry Fordham in Plague over England (Duchess Theatre).

Alastair Whatley is currently playing Evans in the UK tour of Birdsong. Other recent theatre roles include Jerome in Three Men in a Boat and The Reverend Lionel Toop in See How They Run (both for Original Theatre Company), and the title role in Henry V (South Hill Park). Alastair is also the artistic director of the Original Theatre Company.