Casting Announced For Richard Harris' STEPPING OUT At The Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough

Richard Harris's much-loved comedy Stepping Out will have audiences dancing on air this summer at Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre.

The feel-good comedy, with live music and tap dancing, will have what's believed to be its first-ever in-the-round production, brought to the stage by the same team that created last summer's sell-out The 39 Steps.

With a cast of ten, Stepping Out is about a group of strangers who come together every week for a tap class in the local church hall, gradually forming friendships and revealing secrets.

The cast is: Natasha Calland, Alix Dunmore, Claire Eden, Joanne Heywood, David McKechnie, Fenella Norman, Gemma Page, Sarah Pearman, Angela Phinnimore and Suzanne Procter.

Stepping Out won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Comedy and has been seen on stage worldwide and on screen in a BAFTA-nominated movie starring Liza Minnelli, Julie Walters and Shelley Winters.

Paul Robinson says: "This summer at the SJT, things will kick off - literally - with the joy that is Stepping Out. With a cast of ten high-kicking, tap-dancing, hugely talented actors, you can expect laughter, drama and plenty of razzle dazzle."

Richard Harris says: "To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time the play has been performed in the round and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it works. Not that I have any doubts because if anyone knows how to do 'in the round', it's my new friends at the SJT."

Director Paul Robinson trained at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He then received an Arts Council Directing Bursary at The Manchester Royal Exchange. He was selected to attend the National Theatre's Advanced Directors' Course and was then Staff Director at the National Theatre for three years.

Paul was Joint Artistic Director of Theatre503 from 2007 to 2012, when the theatre was turned into a multi-award-winning new writing powerhouse. He took on sole leadership of Theatre503 from 2012, introducing the Trafalgar Transfer season and the Theatre503 International Playwriting Award. He has been twice nominated for Best Artistic Director at the Off West End Awards. Paul's productions of And Then Come the Nightjars, A Handful of Stars and Land of Our Fathers all received huge critical acclaim and a total of 12 Off West End Award nominations, including Best Director. The latter was made into a feature-length film.

Paul joined the SJT as Artistic Director in the summer of 2016, since when he has directed The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Goth Weekend, The 39 Steps and three Christmas shows - Pinocchio, A (Scarborough) Christmas Carol and Alice in Wonderland.

Paul's creative team comprises designer Helen Coyston, who also designed Alice in Wonderland, A (Scarborough) Christmas Carol and Goth Weekend at the SJT; lighting designer Jason Taylor, who has worked on many productions at the SJT; and Simon Slater, who was Olivier-nominated for Constellations and was Musical Director on the National Theatre's highly acclaimed recent production of Amadeus.

Stepping Out can be seen in the Round at the SJT on various dates from Thursday 20 June to Saturday 3 August. Tickets, priced from £10, are available from the box office on 01723 370541 and online at www.sjt.uk.com.

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