NEVILLE'S ILAND to Play SJT

The Stephen Joseph Theatre revives a hit comedy from the award-winning writer of Calendar Girls as its celebratory 60th summer season continues.

Tim Firth's Neville's Island was first shown at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round at Westwood in June 1992 and has since continued to be staged throughout the world.

It is being revived for the first time by the SJT and runs in the Round from 6 to 27 August in Scarborough, directed by the theatre's Associate Director Henry Bell.

Four out-of-condition, middle-aged businessmen are sent off on a team building exercise in the Lake District where they succeed in being the first people ever to get shipwrecked on an island on Derwentwater.

Bound in fog, menaced by wildlife and cut off from the world, this obligatory middle-class exercise turns into a carnival of recriminations, French cricket and sausages. What should have been a bonding process for Gordon, Angus, Roy and Neville turns into a muddy, bloody fight for survival.

Director Henry Bell said: "Tim Firth has a mastery of tone and Neville's Island is very, very funny but it can really shock an audience too. It also deals with big ideas whilst observing the more mundane elements of human life.

"Together with the designer Lucy Weller, we are pushing towards an aesthetic which has never been seen before with this play - one that will get people to see it in a new light - but still with lots of fog!"

Daniel Crowder plays the title role and returns to the SJT where he last appeared in the world premiere of Tim Firth's The Safari Party, directed by Alan Ayckbourn, in 2003. Recent theatre credits include The Mousetrap in the West End and Jermyn Street Theatre's The Potsdam Quartet.

Craig Cheetham makes his SJT debut as Gordon. He can currently be heard on Radio 4 in the afternoon drama Stone and seen on Channel 4's The Offence. On stage he has appeared with Northern Broadsides in King Lear and at Manchester Royal Exchange.

Jamie Chapman comes to the SJT fresh from recording for Catherine Tate's new series of Nan for the BBC. He is also known for playing Brains in the BBC series Extras and his stage credits include Noises Off, Taking Steps and The Norman Conquests.

John Last takes on the role of Angus and will also perform on the SJT stage for the first time following critical acclaim in Chicken Shop at London's Park Theatre and an award winning performance in the short film King John.

Neville's Island can be seen at the SJT from Thursday 6 to Thursday 27 August. Tickets, priced from £10 to £24.50, are available from the Box Office on 01723 370541 and online at www.sjt.uk.com.

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