Cast Set For Wise Children's Tour of NORTH BY NORTHWEST

Wise Children has announced the full cast for the world première of Emma Rice’s adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest. Rice directs Mirabelle Gremaud (Anna), Patrycja Kujawska (Eva Kendall), Simon Oskarsson (Valerian), Katy Owen (The Professor), Karl Queensborough (Philip Vandamm) and Ewan Wardrop (Roger Thornhill).

North by Northwest is a co-production with York Theatre Royal, HOME Manchester and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, opening on 26 March at York Theatre Royal, with previews from 18 March, before touring to HOME Manchester, Liverpool Playhouse, Bath Theatre Royal, Everyman Theatre Cheltenham, and concluding its run at Alexandra Palace Theatre on 22 June.

Additional venues and dates to be announced.

It would be strange, would it not, if, in a city of seven million people, one man were never mistaken for another... But that is exactly what happens to Roger Thornhill, reluctant hero of North by Northwest, when a mistimed phone call to his mother lands him smack bang in the middle of a Cold War conspiracy. Now he’s on the run, dodging spies, airplanes and a femme fatale who might not be all she seems.

Emma Rice takes on film legend Alfred Hitchcock in this riotously funny reworking that turns the original thriller on its head. With just six shape-shifting performers, a fabulous ‘50s soundtrack and a LOT of hats, this dazzling production plays with the heart, mind and soul. Join us for a night of glamour, romance, jeopardy and a liberal sprinkling of tender truths.

Based on the Turner Entertainment Co. Film North by Northwest

Produced by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures and Kay & McLean Productions

North by Northwest is a 1959 film, produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, and James Mason.

Biographies

Emma Rice is the Artistic Director of Wise Children and is an internationally respected theatre-maker and director. For Wise Children she has adapted and directed The Buddha of Suburbia, Blue Beard, The Little Matchgirl and Happier Tales, Wuthering Heights, Bagdad Café, Angela Carter’s Wise Children, Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers and Romantics Anonymous. As Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe: Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Little Matchgirl (and Other Happier Tales). Rice worked for Kneehigh as an actor, director and Artistic Director, creating critically acclaimed productions including: The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, The Wild Bride, The Red Shoes, Cymbeline (in association with RSC), A Matter of Life and Death (in association with National Theatre), Brief Encounter (in association with David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers Productions), Don John (in association with the RSC and Bristol Old Vic), Wah! Wah! Girls (in association with Sadler’s Wells and Theatre Royal Stratford East for World Stages), and Steptoe and Son. She received the Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre award at the 2019 UK Theatre Awards.

Mirabelle Gremaud returns to the company to play Anna and Others - she previously appeared in Blue Beard (UK tour), Wise Children (Old Vic Theatre/UK tour), Malory Towers (Bristol Passenger Shed/UK tour), and Wuthering Heights (Bristol Old Vic/National Theare/UK tour). Her theatre credits as an actress/dancer and contortionist include Le Conte des Contes (Théâtre Kléber-Mélau), Peter Pan (Birmingham Rep), Swan Lake (The Lost Estate), Acrojou (Roundhouse), Falling (Complicité), and her solo show Sombre Sloughing (UK and European tour).

Patrycja Kujawska returns to the company to play Eve Kendall and Others – she previously appeared in Blue Beard (UK tour), Bagdad Cafe (Old Vic Theatre), and Wise Children (Old Vic Theatre/UK tour). Her other theatre credits include Cyrano, The Grinning Man (Bristol Old Vic), The Tin Drum, Midnight’s Pumpkin, 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips (Kneehigh), The Red Shoes, The Wild Bride, Tristan and Yseult (Kneehigh/UK tour/US tour), Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and Other Love Songs) (Kneehigh/UK tour/Shanghai tour), Don John (RSC), Drop Dead Gorgeous, Let The Mountains Lead You To Love, Punch Drunk, Fairy Tale, Test Run, If We Go On, Underworld (Vincent Dance Theatre), Broken Chords and Motherland (Vincent Dance Theatre/UK tour/US tour).

Katy Owen returns to the company to play The Professor and Others - she previously appeared in The Little Match Girl and Happier Tales, Blue Beard (UK tour), The Buddha of Suburbia (RSC/Barbican Centre), Wise Children (Old Vic Theatre/UK tour), and Wuthering Heights (Bristol Old Vic/National Theatre). Her other theatre credits include UBU Karaoke!, Rebecca (Kneehigh), David Copperfield (Riverside Studios), The Little Matchgirl and Happier Tales (Bristol Old Vic/Shakespeare's Globe), Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare's Globe), 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tipps (Kneehigh/Shakespeare's Globe/UK tour), The World of Work, The Night Before Christmas (Chapter Arts Centre), Apparitions of Spirits with the Forsythe Sisters (Gaggle Babble), Maudie's Rooms, Plum - and Me, Will!, Cinders (Sherman Theatre), Ill Met by Moonlight (Wales Millennium Centre) and The Tempest (Theatr Iolo). Her television credits include The Story of Tracy Beaker; and for film, Cyrano and Daddy’s Girl.

Simon Oskarsson plays Valerian and Others. His theatre credits include Hadestown (Lyric Theatre), The Book Thief (Curve Leicester/Belgrade Coventry), Robin Hood: The Legend. Re-written, 101 Dalmatians, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Claus (The Lowry, Salford), Assassins (The Watermill Theatre), Kiss Me Kate (Sheffield Theatres), Return to the Forbidden Planet (Upstairs at the Gatehouse - Stage Debut Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical); and his international theatre credits include Kärlek Skonar Ingen, Julia Capulet and Ögonblick. His television credits include Lotta På Liseberg - Kärlek Skonar Ingen and So Awkward.

Karl Queensborough plays Phillip Vandamm and Others. His theatre credits include Lady M (Shanghai Culture Square), The Big Life – The SKA Musical (Stratford East), Hamilton (Victoria Palace Theatre), White Teeth, A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes (Kiln Theatre), Sylvia (Old Vic Theatre/Zoo Nation), The Little Matchgirl and Happier Tales (Shakespeare's Globe/Bristol Old Vic), The Machine Stops (York Theatre Royal/Pilot Theatre), Only the Brave (Soho Theatre/Wales Millennium Centre/Bird Song), Aladdin, Cinderella, Dick Whittington, Jack and the Beanstalk (Lyric Theatre Hammersmith), Dayglo, Mind the Gap, (Y Touring); Morning (Lyric Theatre Hammersmith/Traverse Theatre), 365 (National Theatre of Scotland), and Ignition Out of Reach (Frantic Assembly). His television credits include The Talent, The Crown, Enterprice, Misfits, Wednesday’s Child, and Sex, Lies and DVDs.

Ewan Wardrop returns to the company to play Roger Thornhill – he previously appeared in The Buddha of Suburbia (RSC/Barbican Theatre) and Bagdad Café (Old Vic Theatre). His other theatre credits include A Monster Calls (UK tour, US tour), The American Clock (Old Vic Theatre), Formby, Rebecca, Far From The Madding Crowd, Treasure Island (UK tours), Much Ado About Nothing, 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Wind in the Willows (Vaudeville Theatre/Duchess Theatre), The Deep Blue Sea, Rattigan’s Nijinsky (Chichester Festival Theatre), Enron (Noël Coward Theatre/Royal Court Theatre/UK tour), Johnno (Derby Playhouse/Brisbane Powerhouse), Up from the Waste (Soho Theatre), Promises Promises (Sheffield Theatres), Beauty and the Beast (RSC), On Your Toes (Royal Festival Hall), Play Without Words (National Theatre) and Dick Whittington (Sadlers Wells). His television credits include Matthew Bourne’s Christmas and Greek Vase.

Tour Dates

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