Gerard McCarthy, Vanessa Babirye and More to Star in UK's BEAUTIFUL THING - Full Cast Announced!

Casting is now complete: best known as series regular 'Kris Fisher' in Channel 4's Hollyoaks most recently seen on screen in BBC2's The Fall, and on Netflix' epic Titanic: Blood and Steel, Gerard McCarthy will star as 'Tony'. Other theatrical credits include The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Globe, and Blue/Orange for ATG. Vanessa Babirye, recently seen on screen in BBC 2's Our Girl, and at the National Theatre in Romeo and Juliet will star as 'Leah'. Also joining the company will be Rob Ellis and Natalie Law.

Multi-award winning actress Charlie Brooks, best known for her role as 'Janine Butcher' in EastEnders, will lead the cast as 'Sandra'. Other notable credits include 'Jenny' in Bleak House, winner of Strictly Come Dancing, I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!, and a critically acclaimed stage performance in Our Country's Good (Liverpool Playhouse). Thomas Law, whose roles include 'Peter Beale' in EastEnders, 'Matt Haddon' in Casualty and most recently as a young Simon Pegg in blockbuster film The World's End will star as 'Ste'. Sam Jackson, whose roles include 'Alex Henley' in Skins (E4), 'Jack' in Drifters (E4) and a critically acclaimed performance as 'Billy Casper' in Kes (Derby Theatre), will star as 'Jamie'.

Beautiful Thing is a glorious urban love story between two young men set on an inner city housing estate. It tells the story of teenager Jamie's relationship with classmate and neighbour, Ste. Together the two boys find comedy, warmth and the music of Mama Cass through their loud-mouthed next door neighbour Leah. Jonathan Harvey combines comedy with drama in his critically acclaimed award winning play. Beautiful Thing truly captures what it is to be a teenager and to fall in love.

Executive producer Tom O'Connell said, "Having produced the original anniversary production, I am honoured to now partner with Nottingham Playhouse and Curve theatre, Leicester, two fantastic producing theatres, to bring Jonathan's hit comedy to the stage one more time. Nikolai and I made a promise to each other that if we ever re-visited his production it would play cities and theatres that it hadn't been to before. We feel with this new cast and with some new elements added to the show, this new production will have audiences smiling all the way home."

Praise for the 2013 production, which enjoyed a sell-out run at the Arts Theatre in the West End:

???? "NIKOLAI FOSTER'S TERRIFIC AND GUTSY REVIVAL." - Time Out

???? The Times, The Guardian, Evening Standard, Telegraph, WhatsOnStage, The Sunday Express

WINNER: The Public Reviews Best Touring Production 2013, So So Gay Best Play of 2013

Jonathan Harvey wrote beautiful thing when he was just 24. It premiered at the Bush Theatre in 1993 and sold out its five-week run before transferring to the Donmar Warehouse, and then the Duke of York's, eventually winning its author an Olivier Award nomination and the John Whiting Award. A screen adaptation of the play was released in 1996 by Channel 4 films, which went on to be a cult hit. Jonathan is a regular writer for Coronation Street and wrote the TV hit series Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, as well as the best-selling 2012 novel All She Wants. His plays include Canary and Corrie!

Over its 20 year history, the play has featured in the careers of many famous actors including Jonny Lee Miller, Suranne Jones, Hugh Bonneville, Philip Glennister, Andrew Garfield, and Rhys Ifans, and has been produced over 25 times worldwide, with international dates in China, France, Canada, Australia and Holland.

Nikolai Foster was recently appointed Artistic Director of Curve Leicester. His work has been seen in most of the UK's leading regional theatres, touring houses and internationally, and recent productions include The Hired Man (St James), Calamity Jane (UK tour), Brecht's The Good Person Of Sichuan (Mercury, Colchester), Flashdance (West End), Hayfever (CFT), Merrily We Roll Along (Clwyd Theatr Cymru), The Diary of Anne Frank (York Theatre Royal & The Touring Consortium), and Annie (WYP, Leeds).

Designed by Colin Richmond, with new lighting design by Ben Cracknell and sound design by George Dennis, Beautiful Thing will be a co-production between the Nottingham Playhouse, the Curve Leicester and Tom O'Connell for QNQ Ltd.

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2015 tour dates:

Canterbury- Marlowe Theatre, 23 - 24 March

Birmingham - Hippodrome Studio, 30 March - 11 April

Manchester - Quays Studio, Lowry, Salford, 13 - 18 April

Nottingham - Playhouse, 21 April - 9 May

Guildford - Yvonne Arnaud 11 - 16 May (tickets on-sale in early 2015)

Northampton - Royal and Derngate, 18 - 23 May

Leicester - Curve Studio, 25 - 30 May

High Wycombe - Swan Theatre, 22 - 27 June

Cardiff- New Theatre, 14 - 18 July

Brighton- Theatre Royal, 20 - 25 July