Michael Pennington Will Lead THE TEMPEST at Jermyn Street Theatre

On March 16, 2021, Michael Pennington and the cast of Tom Littler's production of The Tempest, took their curtain call, just six performances into what was to be a five week run, as theatres across the country dimmed their lights. There followed a protracted period of closure lasting fifteen months. Now Jermyn Street Theatre is delighted to welcome back the majority of the cast, to continue where they left off before the start of the Covid lockdowns.

On November 25, Michael Pennington will pick up his staff and books and don his robes once more, to return to the Jermyn Street Theatre stage to play Prospero in this critically hailed production of Shakespeare's final play. He will be reunited with Peter Bramhill (Holby City - RSC, King Lear - Young Vic, Thomas Moore - RSC, Ian Charleson Award nomination) as Sebastian and Trinculo, Richard Derrington (For Services Rendered - Jermyn Street Theatre, The Archers, numerous roles for Alan Ayckbourn and the RSC) as Antonio and Stephano, Lynn Farleigh (Wycliffe, numerous leading roles for the RSC) as Gonzalo, Jim Findley (For Services Rendered - Jermyn Street Theatre, Our Town - Regent's Park, The Lady from the Sea - Donmar) as Alonso, Whitney Kehinde (Twelfth Night - National Theatre, Twelfth Night - Grosvenor Park) as Ariel, and Tam Williams (Spectre, The Lottery of Love - Orange Tree Theatre, The Rivals - Theatre Royal Haymarket, Twelfth Night - Old Vic) as Ferdinand and Caliban. Rachel Pickup, who has previously appeared at Jermyn Street Theatre in The Odyssey and For Services Rendered, takes over the role of Miranda from Kirsty Bushell

Pennington is one of the leading Shakespearean actors of his generation. He is Honorary Associate Artist at the RSC and a four-time Olivier Award nominee. He was co-founder and co-Artistic Director of the English Shakespeare Company. His acclaimed Shakespearean roles include King Lear, Hamlet, Antony, Leontes, Coriolanus, Macbeth, Timon of Athens, Richard II, Henry V, Berowne, Mercutio, and Angelo.

Completing the team are designers Neil Irish and Anett Black (jointly OffWestEnd Award-nominated for All's Well That Ends Well, numerous designs for Opera Holland Park, English Touring Opera, Royal Opera House), composer and sound designer Max Pappenheim (Macbeth - Chichester, The Night of the Iguana - West End, The Children - Royal Court, Manhattan Theatre Company), lighting designer Will Reynolds (OffWestEnd Award nominated for Pictures of Dorian Gray, Stitchers and The Blinding Light - Jermyn Street Theatre), and movement director Julia Cave (Pictures of Dorian Gray - Jermyn Street Theatre, Treasure Island - Bolton Octagon).

Tom Littler says - "It's very moving to reunite with the cast of The Tempest after this long wait, and I'm delighted that Rachel Pickup could join to take over the role of Miranda. This play is about isolation and the joy of encountering long lost people - it has gained new and unexpected resonances."

Jermyn Street Theatre is the West End's smallest producing theatre. The Stage's Fringe Theatre of the Year 2021, is led by Artistic and Executive Directors Tom Littler and Penny Horner. The programme includes outstanding new plays, rare revivals, new versions of European classics, and high-quality musicals, alongside one-off musical and literary events. It collaborates with theatres across the world, and its productions have transferred to the West End and Broadway. Its 2020 had begun with acclaimed, sold-out productions of a Beckett Triple Bill directed by Trevor Nunn, and The Tempest directed by Tom Littler. During its closure, the theatre has responded with its Brave New World season of digital work, including the complete cycle of Shakespeare's sonnets performed by a mixture of graduating drama students and household names including Helena Bonham Carter and Olivia Colman and the acclaimed 15 Heroines with DigitalTheatre+ featuring adaptations of Ovid from writers including Juliet Gilkes Romero and Timberlake Wertenbaker.

Performances will run Thursday 25th November to Wednesday 22nd December 2021.

Box Office: 020 7287 2875 and online at www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk

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