Frances de la Tour to Star in Alan Bennett's PEOPLE at National Theatre, Oct 2012

According to the Daily Mail, Olivier Award winner Frances de la Tour will star in Alan Bennett's new play People, which premieres at The National Theatre in October 2012.

Read the original report here.

Joining De la Tour will be Nicholas Le Prevost (currently touring with Dandy Dick) as Ralph Lumsden, Selina Cadell (also in The Habit Of Art), Linda Bassett (who has starred in productions at Donmar, RSC, Royal Court and Shakespeare's Globe) and Peter Egan (predominantly a television and film actor).

People will be Bennett's seventh drama for The National Theatre. The script was crafted with the help of director Nicholas Hytner throughout winter and spring of this year and is "set in the here and now," the Mail reports. "The plot will be revealed at its first performance," Hytner told the publication's Baz Bamigboye.

Frances de la Tour was last seen in Bennett's The Habit Of Art at the National. The actress was honored with an Olivier Award and a Tony Award for her portrayal of Miss Lintott in The History Boys, as well as two Olivier Awards for Best Actress for her performances as Stephanie in Duet for One and Josie in A Moon for the Misbegotten. De la Tour also earned an Olivier for Best Supporting Actress for When She Danced. Her other theatre credits include Wyndham's Three Tall Women, Almeida's The Play About the Baby, RSC's Antony and Cleopatra, the West End revival of Boeing-Boeing, and many more.

De la Tour appeared in the British sitcom Rising Damp, as well as Flickers, A Kind of Living, Tom Jones. She also played the role of Madame Olympe Maxime in two of the Harry Potter films and has appeared in Hugo, Alice in Wonderland, and more.

Bennett's other six plays written for The National Theatre include Wind In The Willows, An Englishman Abroad, A Question Of Attribution (Singles Spies), The Madness Of King George, The History Boys and The Habit Of Art.

Photo credit: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images North America

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