MATILDA's Bertie Carvel to Lead THE HAIRY APE at the Old Vic This Fall

MATILDA star Bertie Carvell will lead Eugene O'Neill's THE HAIRY APE, directed by Richard Jones, at the Old Vic from October 17.

According to the Daily Mail, he will play 'Yank', a powerful laborer who stokes the engines of an oceanliner. One day, Yank encounters the rich daughter of an industrialist, who calls him a "filthy beast" and causes him to question his place in society.

"The class angle is huge," Carvel told the Mail. Discussing O'Neill's commentary on "people being squashed by the system", he added, "There's a sense that something is repressed."

Carvel is in the process of making his body more "appropriate" -- i.e. bigger -- for the role.

The actor will soon appear in BAKKHAI, opposite Ben Whishaw, at the Almeida.

Carvel created the role of 'Miss Trunchbull' in Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin's Matilda, the Musical (RSC, West End and Broadway). His iconic performance won him a raft of awards including the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical, the prestigious Drama Desk Award and a Tony nomination. Carvel's other theatre credits include The Pride (Royal Court), Parade (Donmar Warehouse), The Man of Mode, The Life of Galileo and Coram Boy (all National Theatre).

On television, he appeared as Nick Clegg in James Graham's Channel 4 drama Coalition, and is currently playing the role of Jonathan Strange in the BBC adaptation of Susanna Clarke's novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Other film and television credits include The Wrong Mans, Babylon, Restless, Hidden, Sherlock, Just William, The Crimson Petal and The White, John Adams, Doctor Who, Hawking and Les Miserables. He is soon to appear in Mike Bartlett's Doctor Foster for the BBC.

Photo Credit: David Jensen