Cast Set For UK Premiere of THE UNSEEN

Casting is now complete for the London debut of Craig Wright's gripping play, The Unseen which will open at Riverside Studios next month.

The cast features BAFTA Cymru Award-winning actor Richard Harrington (Fisherman's Friends: One and All; Home I'm Darling) as Wallace and Waj Ali (Carnival Row; King Lear) as Valdez, two prisoners incarcerated together, with Ross Tomlinson (Allelujah; This Is Going To Hurt) as Smash, a prison guard.

The Unseen delves into the human spirit's resilience under oppressive regimes and will be directed by Iya Patarkatsishvili, with set and costume design by Simon Kenny, playing at Riverside Studios from 15 November 2024. Accompanying the play will be a series of post-performance discussions featuring special guest speakers and the UK premiere of international exhibition Faces of Russian Resistance.

Craig Wright's play, first seen at the Humana Festival in 2007 and subsequently at New York's Cherry Lane Theatre is a powerful exploration of the human spirit's capacity for connection, even in the direst of circumstances. It challenges audiences to confront the realities of power, cruelty, and the costs of survival.

In a brutal totalitarian regime, two strangers are imprisoned for reasons unknown. Wallace and Valdez communicate only through their cell walls, navigating waves of hope and disillusionment whilst seeking an escape route.

Finding solace in one another they create their own philosophies in an attempt to assign meaning to their state of confinement. Meanwhile, their torturer finds himself torn between his duty and his own self-revulsion and plans a showdown that will change everything.

GUEST SPEAKERS

A series of post-performance events have been programmed in conjunction with the production, focusing on the play's themes and contemporary human rights issues. Special guests to be announced, with support from the Russian Democratic Society.

FACES OF RUSSIAN RESISTANCE

Acclaimed exhibition, Faces of Russian Resistance, will make its UK premier at Riverside Studios to coincide with the production of The Unseen. The exhibition focuses on Russians who oppose the Putin regime and paid for it with their freedom. Its heroes are not only politicians who led an open struggle for the freedom of Russia. These are ordinary citizens who did not believe false propaganda and did not accept the invasion to a neighbouring country. There are men and women, young and old, political activists, artists, scientists, students, fathers and mothers. They were all jailed for years, some of them — for decades.
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The Unseen is written by Craig Wright, directed by Iya Patarkatsishvili, has set and costume design by Simon Kenny, lighting design by Anna Watson, sound design by Mike Walker with James Robert Moore as associate director. The composer is Danny Short, who also executive produces alongside, Peter Huntley and Callum Runciman for Smart Entertainment.

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