Simon Russell Beale to star in The Invention of Love revival

Simon Russell Beale is set to star as A E Housman in Tom Stoppard’s The Invention of Love.

Directed by Blanche McIntyre at Hampstead Theatre, the new revival of Stoppard’s classic will run from from 4 December to 25 January.

Beale will return to Hampstead Theatre after his leading role in the 2015 hit Mr Foote’s Other Leg, which transferred to the West End. With credits including The Lehman Trilogy, Privates on Parade, House of the Dragon and The Death of Stalin, he said today: “I’m delighted to be working with Blanche McIntyre on Tom Stoppard’s great masterpiece The Invention of Love. The story concerns the poet and scholar A E Housman whose writing and ideas I find deeply moving.”

McIntyre added, “The Invention of Love is a true masterpiece and a play I love beyond measure, and I have hoped all my life to be able to direct it. It’s a dream to be working on it with the great Simon Russell Beale. His extraordinary skill with language, intelligence, wit, and genius will illuminate the part of A E Housman and the whole play. I am so excited that he is on board.”

Stoppard’s play follows Housman, the noted Latin scholar and celebrated poet of “A Shropshire Lad,” finds himself ferried across the Styx to Hades after his death.

The creative team includes designer Morgan Large, lighting designer Peter Mumford, and composer and sound designer Max Pappenheim. Further casting and creative details will be announced.

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