DEAD SIMPLE to Play Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury

DEAD Simple, the second stage adaptation of a Peter James novel, comes to The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, next month (July).

Following the success of The Perfect Murder last year, Dead Simple stars Tina Hobley, Jamie Lomas, Rik Makarem, Michael McKell and Gray O'Brien. Michael Harrison (Lomas) thinks he has it all: great career, good friends and a beautiful fiancée (Hobley). But when his stag night prank goes horribly wrong, Michael finds himself alone and staring death in the face. As time runs out and the terror grows, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace (O'Brien) tries to solve his mysterious disappearance, but begins to fear that Michael will never be found in time.

Hobley returns to the stage for this role having graced TV screens for the last 12 years as ward sister Chrissie Williams in BBC 1's Holby City, as well as roles in Coronation Street and Harbour Lights. She currently presents the prime-time Sunday morning programme on Smooth FM.

Award-winning TV heartthrob, Lomas starred in EastEnders as the murderous Jake Stone and before that played bad boy Warren Fox for five years in Channel 4's Hollyoaks.

Makarem is best known for starring for four years in Emmerdale but has also starred in the BBC's Torchwood and ITV's Foyle's War. A classically-trained actor from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, he is a previous winner of the prestigious Laurence Olivier Bursary in association with the Society of London Theatre. His theatre credits include Passing By at the Tristan Bates theatre and The Dishwashers starring alongside David Essex.

McKell is perhaps best known for his three-year starring role in Doctors as well as playing DC Nick Henshall in Emmerdale, D.I Trevor Hands in ITV's Murder Investigation Team and Channel 4's Totally Frank. On stage, he has starred in Blood Brothers, played the role of Stoner in Ben Elton's Tonight's the Night and the Olivier-winning Crazy for You. His film credits include Essex Boys with Sean Bean.

O'Brien is the award-winning star of Coronation Street, TV series Titanic, Peak Practice and Casualty as well as Sleuth in the West End.

Dead Simple is produced by Peter James and Joshua Andrews in association with Paul Tyrer and Jamie Clark at the Booking Office. As well as The Perfect Murder, Andrews recently co-produced the sell-out run of A Streetcar Named Desire with the Young Vic. Starring Gillian Anderson, it was the fastest-selling show in the theatre's history.

Peter James has gone straight in at number one in the Sunday Times bestseller charts seven times in the last four years with his Roy Grace series - with last year's novel, Dead Man's Time, going straight to number one in the autumn of 2013. The international bestselling crime thriller novelist has won numerous awards both in the UK and in the USA and in 2012 he won the coveted US Barry Award for Best British Crime Thriller. He has sold more than 15 million books of his Roy Grace series, and is published in 36 languages. Dead Simple has itself sold more than two million copies around the word and has been a number one best seller in the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Holland and Russia.

Dead Simple, directed by Olivier Award-winner Ian Talbot, is at The Marlowe Theatre from Monday 6 to Saturday 11 July, at 2.30pm (Thursday and Saturday) and 7.30pm. Tickets, priced from £17.50 to £33, are from the Box Office on 01227 787787 or at marlowetheatre.com. The show will be signed (7.30pm, Thursday) and audio described (2.30pm, Saturday).

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