Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company announces casting for Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard.
Directed by
Giles Croft, The Cherry Orchard will be Croft's final production at
Nottingham Playhouse as Artistic Director, and features well-known stars of the Playhouse stage: Kenneth Alan Taylor as Firs and John Elkington as Lopakhin, as well as
Sara Stewart, fresh from the gripping BBC drama Doctor Foster.
Anton Chekhov's last - and widely considered greatest - play, The Cherry Orchard, tells the story of a family on the edge of ruin and a country on the brink of revolution.
When Ranevskaya (
Sara Stewart) returns to her country home - with its famous orchard - she is torn between its past and the future.
By turns tragic and funny, this new version by Olivier Award?winner
Simon Stephens (A Doll's House, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), is both dynamic and profound.
Taking the role of Charlotta Ivanovna is Claire Storey,
Jamie De Courcey is confirmed to play Peter Trofimov and
Graham Butler will be taking the role of Yasha.
Babirye Bukilwa is due to play Varya, alongside Jonathan Oliver as Boris Simeonov-Pishchik, and
Evlyne Oyedokun taking the stage as Anya.
Robin Kingsland will be playing Leonid Gayev,
PatRick Osborne will take the role as Simeon Yepikhodov, Dunyasha will be played by Sasha Frost and the roles of Lev the Station Master/ Traveller will be played by Rob Goll.
Giles Croft has chosen this masterpiece as his final production - and first Chekhov - as Artistic Director. Leaving an incredible legacy of productions including Polygraph, Rat Pack Confidential, All Quiet on the Western Front, The Ashes, Arcadia and The Kite Runner.
Giles said: "During my time at
Nottingham Playhouse I have been fortunate enough to direct work by writers as varied as
Robert Lepage,
Henrik Ibsen and
Noel Coward so when thinking about what would be my final production I was unsure of where to begin. I knew that it had to be a play that I love, that it should be connected with the theme of change and would also present me with a new challenge. I have never directed Chekov, I love The Cherry Orchard and is there a better play about change?"
Full casting biographies:
Kenneth Alan Taylor - The Father (Oldham Coliseum &
HarroGate Theatre), A Celebration of
Arthur Miller, Noises Off (Octagon Theatre Bolton), My Space and The Towers of Babel (24/7 Festival Manchester).
John Elkington - Robin Hood arrow of destiny (York Theatre Royal), Noises Off (
Nottingham Playhouse/Nuffield Southampton Theatres/Northern Stage), Dancing Through
The Shadows (Hull Truck)
Sara Stewart - Dinner With Friends (
Park Theatre), Hay Fever (Duke of Yorks), Dr Foster (BBC TV Series)
Claire Storey - The Importance of Being Earnest; The Lost Plays Revue; Forever Young (
Nottingham Playhouse); Arabian Nights (Best Ensemble MTA, Manchester Library); Animal Farm (Theatr Clywd)
Jamie De Courcey - Richard III; Macbeth (Arcola Theatre, London), A Doll's House, Doctor Faustus, 1984, Great Expectations, The Importance of Being Earnest (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester), The Sacred Flame (English Touring Theatre)
Graham Butler - Sweet Bird of Youth (Chichester Theatre), Cleansed, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The White Guard (National Theatre), Richard II,
Nell Gwynn, Harry the Sixth, The Houses of York and Lancaster, The True Tragedy of the Duke of York; Henry V (Shakespeare's Globe)
Babirye Bukilwa - Filthy Business (Hampstead Theatre); Ukumzi (Brave New Word); Plaques & Tangles, Truth & Reconciliation (
The Royal Court Theatre)
Jonathan Oliver - After October (Finborough Theatre); The Magic Flute (Budapest Festival Orchestra); Waiting for Godot (Arcola Theatre)
Evlyne Oyedokun - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (The Old Vic), The Broken Heart, A Doll's House (RADA)
Robin Kingsland - Hamlet (Secret Theatre London), The Other Place (RADA) and Witness For The Prosecution (Vienna's English Theatre)
PatRick Osborne - All My Sons (
Nottingham Playhouse), Shakespeare in Love (
Noel Coward Theatre, West End), Peter Pan (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre)
Sasha Frost - All My Sons (
Nottingham Playhouse), The Lightning Child (Shakespeare's Globe), Gutted (Theatre Royal Stratford East)
Rob Goll - NEAT 16 Studio Ensemble; The Second Minute; The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui; The League of Youth (
Nottingham Playhouse); King Lear; Much Ado About Nothing; Henry V; The Tempest; Macbeth; Romeo and Juliet; Twelfth Night; Richard II; Richard III (Cambridge Shakespeare Festival); Sleuth (Quirksome Theatre)
Learn more at
www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk.
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