Maureen Lipman and James Dreyfus Star in HARVEY, Opening Next Month at Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Mary Chase's Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy HARVEY directed by Lindsay Posner, will open at Birmingham Repertory Theatre on 6 February, running until 21 February. First produced on Broadway in 1944 where it ran for four years, this new production stars James Dreyfus as Elwood P. Dowd and Maureen Lipman as his sister, Veta.

Elwood P. Dowd has only one character flaw: an unwavering friendship with a six-foot tall, invisible rabbit named Harvey. In order to save the family's reputation, Elwood's sister Veta takes him to see psychiatrist Dr William Chumley. But when the doctor mistakenly commits anxiety-ridden Veta instead of her brother, it sets off a hilarious whirlwind of confusion and chaos as everyone tries to catch a man and his invisible rabbit.

HARVEY premiered on Broadway in 1944, winning writer Mary Chase the Pulitzer Prize for Drama the following year. The production was directed by Antoinette Perry, after whom the Tony Awards are named. The play premiered in London in 1949 at the Prince of Wales Theatre. In 1950, Mary Chase adapted her play for the big screen, with James Stewart in the role of Elwood P. Dowd. James Stewart went on to star in the Broadway and London revivals of the stage play - in 1970 with Helen Hayes on Broadway and in 1975 with Mona Washbourne at the Prince of Wales Theatre.

James Dreyfus's more recent theatre roles include Dr Pangloss in Candide (Menier Chocolate Factory), Pauncefort Quentin in The Vortex (Rose Theatre Kingston), OJ Berman in Breakfast at Tiffany's (Haymarket Theatre), Humphrey in The Common Pursuit (Menier Chocolate Factory), Emcee in Cabaret, (Lyric Theatre), Quince in Donkey's Years (Comedy Theatre), and Carmen Gia in the original cast of The Producers (Theatre Royal Drury Lane). He won an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical for his role as Russell Paxton in The Lady in the Dark at the National Theatre. On television, he has starred in the series Mount Pleasant, My Hero, Gimme Gimme Gimme and The Thin Blue Line, and played opposite Bette Midler in the American sitcom Bette. His films include Notting Hill.

Maureen Lipman previously starred in Glorious! by Peter Quilter at The REP and more recently appeared in Daytona by Oliver Cotton as part of the theatre's re-opening season in Autumn 2013. Of Maureen Lipman's many theatre credits, including Wonderful Town, See How They Run, for which she won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance, Lost in Yonkers and Trevor Nunn's National Theatre production of Oklahoma! opposite Hugh Jackman, her recent credits include Barefoot in the Park (UK tour), When We Are Married (Garrick) and Trevor Nunn's production of A Little Night Music (Menier Chocolate Factory and Garrick). On television, she is best known for her starring roles in the series Agony, All at Number 20, About Face, Ladies of Letters, and the television films written by her husband, Jack Rosenthal, The Evacuees, The Knowledge, Eskimo Day and Cold Enough for Snow. She played Joyce Grenfell in the biographical stage show and television film Re: Joyce!, which she co-wrote. Her films include Up the Junction, Gumshoe, Educating Rita and The Pianist.

Joining James Dreyfus as Elwood P. Dowd and Maureen Lipman as Veta Louise Simmons, are David Bamber as William R. Chumley, Desmond Barrit as Judge Omar Gaffney, Felicity Dean as Betty Chumley, Ingrid Oliver as Myrtle Mae Simmons, Amanda Boxer as Miss Ethel Chauvenet, Sally Scott as Nurse Ruth Kelly, Youssef Kerkour as Duane Wilson, Jack Hawkins as Lyman Sanderson and Linal Haft as E J Lofgren.

This new production of HARVEY is produced by Don Gregory, who produced the play on Broadway in 2012 with Jim Parsons as Elwood P. Dowd. He also produced a television version of HARVEY with Leslie Nielsen in 1998. Don Gregory's other Broadway productions include the recent highly acclaimed production of The Belle of Amherst with Joely Richardson and the original production of the same play with Julie Harris, My Fair Lady with Rex Harrison, Camelot with Richard Burton, Othello with James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer and Clarence Darrow with Henry Fonda.

HARVEY premiered on Broadway in 1944, winning writer Mary Chase the Pulitzer Prize for Drama the following year. The production was directed by Antoinette Perry, after whom the Tony Awards are named. The play premiered in London in 1949 at the Prince of Wales Theatre. In 1950, Mary Chase adapted her play for the big screen, with James Stewart in the role of Elwood P. Dowd. James Stewart went on to star in the Broadway and London revivals of the stage play - in 1970 with Helen Hayes on Broadway and in 1975 with Mona Washbourne at the Prince of Wales Theatre.

HARVEY will be directed by Lindsay Posner who was associate director at the Royal Court Theatre from 1987 to 1992, where his production of Death and the Maiden won two Olivier Awards. Lindsay's many West End credits include the recent production of Speed the Plow (Playhouse), Butley starring Dominic West and The Birthday Party starring Eileen Atkins and Henry Goodman (both at the Duchess), Uncle Vanya starring Ken Stott, Anna Friel, Samuel West and Laura Carmichael and An Ideal Husband starring Samantha Bond, Rachael Stirling, Alexander Hanson and Elliot Cowan (both at the Vaudeville), A View From The Bridge starring Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Ken Stott (Duke of York's, nominated for four Olivier Awards), Fool for Love starring Juliette Lewis and A Life in the Theatre starring Patrick Stewart and Joshua Jackson (both at the Apollo), Oleanna starring Aaron Eckhart and Julia Stiles (Garrick), and Sexual Perversity in Chicago starring Matthew Perry, Hank Azaria and Minnie Driver (Comedy). Lindsay has also directed many times for the Old Vic, the Theatre Royal Bath, the National Theatre, the RSC, the Almeida and the Young Vic, as well as for various opera companies, including the Royal Opera House.

HARVEY will be designed by Peter McKintosh, with lighting by Howard Harrison and sound by Paul Groothuis. The 2015 national tour of HARVEY is produced by Don Gregory in association with Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with Julian Stoneman Associates and Paul Tyrer and Jamie Clark for The Booking Office.

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