Samuel West Stars in Goold’s Chichester ENRON

Samuel West (pictured) will star as Jeffrey Skilling in the forthcoming premiere of Lucy Prebble’s ENRON at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester (11 July – 29 August), directed by Rupert Goold (See News, 19 Feb 2009).
A co-production with Headlong and the Royal Court, where it transfers following its run in Chichester, ENRON explores one of the most infamous scandals in financial history, the collapse of the Enron energy company.

Samuel West has a long association with Chichester, with previous acting credits there including Doctor Faustus, Cain and The Master and Margarita. He also directed The Lady’s Not for Burning in 2002, which marked his directorial debut.

Since then he has become well established as a director, helming productions including Dealer’s Choice in the West End and Waste at the Almeida. His most recent stage appearance was last year in The Family Renuion at the Donmar, while other acting credits include Betrayal (Donmar), Hamlet and Richard II (both RSC).

Further casting is still to be announced. Currently at the Minerva, Simon Gray’s The Last Cigarette, starring Felicity Kendal, Nicholas Le Prevost and Jasper Britton, continues to 11 April, before transferring to Trafalgar Studios (See News, 27 Mar 2009).

In other Chichester casting news, Adrian Rawlins and Clare Holman have been confirmed to play Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra in Heidi Thomas’ new play The House of Special Purpose, which runs from 20 June tp 22 August 2009 in the Minerva Studio. It looks at the doomed Romanov family’s final days imprisoned in a merchant’s house prior to their execution in 1918. The production is directed by Howard Davies, whose recent credits include Burnt by the Sun, Gethsemane, and Her Naked Skin.

– by Theo Bosanquet