Lucy Punch Stars in GREAT BRITAIN, Beginning Tonight at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
By: BWW News Desk Sep. 09, 2014
Lucy Punch will play the leading role of Paige Britain in the West End transfer of Richard Bean's new play,Great Britain. Directed by Nicholas Hytner, the National Theatre's sell out production transfers to theTheatre Royal Haymarket tonight 9 September 2014 with opening night on 26 September at 7pm. Great Britain's strictly limited run, booking to 10 January 2015, is designed by Tim Hatley, with video design by 59 Productions, lighting by Neil Austin, music by Grant Olding and sound by Paul Arditti.
Richard Bean's fast and furious new play is an anarchic and foul-mouthed satire about the press, the police and the political establishment. Paige Britain is the ambitious young news editor of The Free Press, a tabloid newspaper locked in a never-ending battle for more readers.
Ben Mansfield also joins members of the original NT company for the West End cast, which comprisesSarah Annis, Ross Boatman, Robert Calvert, William Chubb, Dermot Crowley, Jo Dockery, Robert Glenister, Ian Hallard, James Harkness, Scott Karim, Barbara Kirby, Nicholas Lumley, Ben Mansfield, Maggie McCarthy, Iain Mitchell, Miles Mitchell, Aaron Neil, Lucy Punch, Nick Sampson, Kellie Shirley, Kiruna Stamell, Harriet Thorpe, Rupert Vansittart, Joseph Wilkins andAndrew Woodall.
Lucy Punch returns to the UK to join the cast of Great Britain to play Paige Britain. Her previous theatre credits are Boy Gets Girl for the Royal Court Theatre, A Carpet, A Pony, and A Monkey for the Bush Theatre and The Graduate at the Gielgud Theatre. Her television credits include Ben and Kate, Vexed and The Class. Her many film credits include You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Hot Fuzz, St Trinian's, Bad Teacher,Being Julia, Are You Ready for Love and Dinner for Schmucks. She was most recently directed on film by Rob Marshall in Disney's Into The Woods which will be released in the UK in the new year.
Richard Bean's One Man, Two Guvnors, also directed by Nicholas Hytner for the National Theatre and winner of the Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Awards for Best New Play, is currently on its third UK tour following runs at the National Theatre, in the West End and on Broadway. His other plays for the National Theatre are England People Very Nice and The Mentalists. Bean has also written The Heretic (Evening Standard Award), Harvest (Critics' Circle Award), Honeymoon Suite, Under the Whaleback and Toast for the Royal Court (the latter shortly to be revived at the Park Theatre); The Big Fellah for Out of Joint at the Lyric Hammersmith and on tour; and the forthcoming Pitcairn for Out of Joint, Chichester Festival Theatre and Shakespeare's Globe. He adapted David Mamet's House of Games and wrote a new version of The Hypochondriac for the Almeida Theatre, and has written the book for the new West End musical Made in Dagenham.
Since he became Director of the National in April 2003, Nicholas Hytner has directed Henry V, His Dark Materials, The History Boys, Stuff Happens, Henry IV, Southwark Fair, The Alchemist, The Man of Mode, The Rose Tattoo (with Steven Pimlott), Rafta, Rafta... , Much Ado About Nothing, Major Barbara, England People Very Nice, Phèdre, The Habit of Art, London Assurance, Hamlet, Collaborators, Travelling Light, One Man Two Guvnors, Timon of Athens, People, Cocktail Sticks, Othello and Live from the National Theatre: 50 Years on Stage.
Great Britain received its world premiere at the National Theatre in June this year.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
Theatre: Theatre Royal Haymarket, 18 Suffolk St, London SW1Y 4HT
Dates: 9 September 2014 - 10 January 2015
Opening Night: 26 September at 7pm
Performances: Monday - Saturday 7.30pm, Wednesday & Saturday matinees at 2.30pm
Christmas schedule: Monday 22 December at 7.30pm
Tuesday 23 December at 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Wednesday 24 December at 2.30pm
Thursday 25 December no performance
Friday 26 December at 7.30pm
Saturday 27 December at 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Monday 29 December at 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Tuesday 30 December at 7.30pm
Wednesday 31 December at 2.30pm
Thursday 1 January no performance
Friday 2 January at 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Saturday 3 January at 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Prices: £15.00 - £59.50
150 seats at £15 available at every performance
A limited number of Day Seats at £15.00 each will go on sale from the Box Office, in person only, from 10am on the day of performance
All ticket prices include a £1.50 restoration levy
Box Office: Theatre Royal Haymarket (booking fee applies)
Telephone 0207 930 8800
National Theatre Box (no booking fee)
Telephone 020 7452 3000
Website: www.GreatBritainOnstage.com
Facebook: facebook.com/GreatBritainonstage
Twitter: www.twitter.com/GreatBritainNT
Photo Credit: Johann Persson
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