Snapdragon Productions Sets Full UK Touring Cast of TOAST

Snapdragon Productions today announces the full cast for the UK tour of their acclaimed revival of Toast by Richard Bean. Accompanying Matthew Kelly and Simon Greenall are Will Barton, Steve Nicolson, Matt Sutton and John Wark, all reprising their roles from the 2014 Park Theatre run. Kieran Knowles is the sole new cast member who joins the company in the role of Dezzie.

The UK tour starts at the Rose Theatre Kingston on 4th February and finishes at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham on April 9th before the cast head to New York for the prestigious Brits off Broadway season.

Another Sunday night shift. The smell of bread baking. The industrial thump, thump, thump of the machines that never stop. The ovens are cranked up to full blast, the factory is humming, and everyone wants to be somewhere else.

But this shift is going to be different. Because when a crisis hits the factory, the men have more to lose than just their wages.

This brilliantly observed moving and funny play is based on the year Bean spent working in a mass production bread plant with each character inspired by someone he worked alongside.

In 2011 Richard Bean became the first writer to win the Evening Standard Award for Best Play for two plays, The Heretic and One Man, Two Guv'nors. He also received the 2011 Critics' Circle Award for Best Play and 2012 Whatsonstage Award for Best New Comedy, both for One Man, Two Guv'nors. The New York production of One Man, Two Guv'nors was awarded the 2012 Outer Critics' Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Play. 2014 saw the world première of three of Bean's projects: Nicholas Hytner directed Great Britain as a part of his final season at the National Theatre; Max Stafford-Clarke directed Pitcairn at Chichester Minerva Theatre / Shakespeare's Globe; and Rupert Goold directed Made in Dagenham: The Musical at the Adelphi Theatre for which Bean has written the book. Bean's other credits include Under the Whaleback (George Devine Award), The Heretic, Honeymoon Suite (Pearson Play of the Year), Harvest (Critic's Circle Best New Play), The House of Games, a new version of The Hypochondriac, The Big Fellah, England People Very Nice and The Mentalists, The English Game, Up on Roof, Pub Quiz is Life, In the Club, The God Botherers, Mr England.

Will Barton plays Colin. His theatre credits include Fings Ain't Wot They Used To Be (Stratford East Theatre Royal), Joking Apart (Salisbury Playhouse and Nottingham Playhouse), Boy On The Swing (Arcola), Festen (Almeida Theatre on tour), Woman in Mind and Lady Windermere's Fan (Salisbury Playhouse), Feelgood and Because It's There (Nottingham Playhouse), Young Emma and Neville Southall's Washbag (Finborough), Bedtime Stories (Stephen Joseph Theatre), What The Butler Saw (Royal and Derngate, Northampton), All That Trouble That We Had (Birmingham Rep), Elton's John's Glasses (Watford Palace, UK Tour and West End), The Visit (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Merry Wives of Windsor and Women Of Troy (National Theatre), Angry Old Men (Plymouth Theatre Royal and UK Tour), The Ingolstadt Plays (The Gate) and The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists (Sheffield Crucible). His work for television includes Switch, New Tricks, City Lights, How Do You Want Me, Barking, My Family, Where The Heart Is, and Doctor Who; and for film, his credits include The Theory of Everything (the story of the life of Stephen Hawking, which is due for release in 2014), City Slacker and Oscar and Lucinda.

Simon Greenall plays Cecil. He returned to the stage for the first time in twenty years for the first run of Toast at Park Theatre in 2014. Since then he has performed at the Edinburgh Assembly Rooms for the live recording of The Missing Hancocks (2015). His other theatre credits include Seven Stories (Mermaid Theatre), Merchant of Venice, Woundings and Hannah Smith Casket (Royal Exchange). Perhaps best known for his role as Michael in the TV series I'm Alan Partridge, his other television work includes Cardinal Burns, W1A, Inspector George Gently, Common People, It's Kevin, Pete vs Life, Trapped, Harry and Paul, Holy Flying Circus, The Impressions Show, The Wrong Door, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Saxondale, Lead Balloon, The Charlotte Church Show, Bremner, Bird and Fortune, Funland, Popetown, Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married, Smith and Jones and Barking. His film work includes The Alan Partridge Movie, Acts of Godfrey, Wimbledon and Tube Tales.

Matthew Kelly plays Nellie. For theatre, his credits include Cinderella, (Richmond Theatre), Volpone, Love's Sacrifice, The Jew of Malta (RSC), Twelfth Night (Liverpool Everyman), To Sir With Love (Royal & Derngate and UK tour), The History Boys (Sheffield Crucible), The Seagull (Southwark Playhouse), God of Carnage (Nuffield, Southampton), Educating Rita (Menier Chocolate Factory and Edinburgh Festival), Legally Blonde, Spamalot (UK tours), Buried Child (Curve Leicester), Waiting For Godot (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Sign Of The Times and Lend Me A Tenor - The Musical (both West End), Comedians (Lyric Hammersmith), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Trafalgar Studios), Troilus and Cressida (Shakespeare's Globe), Victory (Arcola Theatre), Amadeus (Wilton's Music Hall), Mirandolina (Manchester Royal Exchange), Endgame (Liverpool Everyman), Forgotten Voices (Riverside Studios) and Of Mice and Men (Birmingham Repertory Theatre and West End - Olivier Award for Best Actor). For television, his work includes Cold Blood, Bleak House, Egypt: The Pharaoh And The Showman and The Temple Of The Sands, Moving On, Benidorm, MI High, My Family At War, Forensic Casebook, City Hospital and Stars in their Eyes; and for film, Showreel, Tribute, Two Stops To Bank and Tortoise.

Kieran Knowles plays Dezzie. His theatre credits include Operation Crucible (Finborough Theatre and UK Tour), The Bear, The Owl and the Angel (New Wimbledon Studio), The Winter's Tale (RSC), The Witches Promise (Birmingham Reperatory Co), The Taming of the Shrew (RSC), Darkness (Lakeside Theatre Colchester), Waiting for Lefty (Theatre Royal Haymarket), The Exclusion Zone (Southwark Playhouse). Kieran is also a writer. He was nominated for the Off WestEnd Most Promising Playwright award for Operation Crucible.

Steve Nicolson plays Blakey. His theatre credits include When We Were Women (Orange Tree and Snapdragon Productions), Warhorse and The Good Hope (National Theatre), Elder Latimer Is In Love and Small Craft Warnings (Arcola Theatre), Mr Peter's Connections (Almeida Theatre), Waking (Soho), Blue Remembered Hills (Sheffield Crucible), A Taste of Honey (Cambridge Theatre), Otherwise Engaged (Yvonne Arnaud) and Maple Tree Game (West Yorkshire Playhouse). His television work Homeland, River, Silent Witness, Whitechapel, Spooks, Eastenders, The Take, Space Race, Vital Signs, Regicide, Rose and Maloney, Big Bad World, Out of Line, Dangerfield, Rules of Engagement and Martin Chuzzlewit; and for film, Johnny English, K19: The Widowmaker, Bravo Two Zero, Six Bullets, White Lightning and Made in Romania.

Matt Sutton plays Peter. His theatre credits include Cinderella (Lyric, Hammersmith), The Ladykillers (New Vic), Jumpers For Goalposts (Paines Plough), King Lear (RSC), The Game and Romeo and Juliet (Northern Broadsides), Up On Roof (Hull Truck Theatre), The Magic Paintbrush (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Steve And Then It Ended (Theatre503), Me & My Friend (King's Head) and Night Cellar (BAC). For television, his work includes Hoff the Record, No Offence, The Secret Files, Our Zoo, Distant Shores, Shakespeare Stories: Much Ado About Nothing and The Taming of the Shrew, 55 Degrees North, FC Dave, Cocaine Nation, Rum, Sodomy and the Lash and The Bill: Beech is Back. For film, his credits include A Royal Night Out, Girls' Night Out, Goal 2: Living the Dream, Peter: Portrait of a Serial Killer and The Notebooks of Cornelius Crow.

John Wark plays Lance. His theatre credits include The Cocktail Party (Print Room at the Coronet), Thark and The Keepers of Infinite Space (Park Theatre), The Winter Guest (West Yorkshire Playhouse/ Almeida Theatre), Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us (National Theatre of Scotland/Traverse Theatre), Dog In The Manger, Tamar's Revenge and Pedro The Great Pretender (RSC), Tamburlaine (Bristol Old Vic/Barbican), The Fear of Breathing and Jamie the Saxt (Finborough Theatre), The Only Girl in The World (Arcola Theatre), The Torchsong Trilogy (Tron Theatre). Television work include Outlander, The Ten Commandments, Robin Hood, Taggart and G-Force; and for film, Queen of the Desert, A Little Chaos, The Fitzroy, Within the Woods, The Oxford Murders, Late Night Shopping and Breaking the Waves.

Director Eleanor Rhode trained at Mountview and the National Theatre Studio and is a former Staff Director at the National Theatre. Her recent productions include When We Were Women (Orange Tree), Teddy (Southwark Playhouse), Toast and Thark (Park Theatre), Generous, The Drawer Boy, and A Life (all Finborough Theatre). Her international work includes the world premiere of the musical For All That (Centerstage, Seattle).

Producer Sarah Loader and Director Eleanor Rhode co-founded Snapdragon Productions in 2009, and are currently developing a new adaptation of Gorky's Vassa with playwright Luke Barnes, and an original play, Boudica with playwright Tristan Bernays.

TOUR DATES

Rose Theatre Kingston

4 - 13 February

Box office: 020 8174 0090

http://www.rosetheatrekingston.org/

Oxford Playhouse

16 - 20 February

Box office: 01865 305305

https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/

Malvern Theatres

22 - 27 February

Box office: 01684 892 277

http://www.malvern-theatres.co.uk/

Norwich Theatre Royal

29 February - 5 March

Box office: 01603 63 00 00

www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk/

Bath Theatre Royal

7 - 12 March

Box office: 01225 448844

http://www.theatreroyal.org.uk/

Worthing Theatres (Connaught)

14 - 19 March

Box office: 01903 206 206

http://worthingtheatres.co.uk/

Guildford Yvonne Arnaud

21 - 26 March
Box office: 01483 44 00 00

http://www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk/

Cambridge Arts

28 March - 2 April
Box office: 01223 503333

https://www.cambridgeartstheatre.com/

Nottingham Theatre Royal

4 - 9 April

Box office: 0115 989 5555

http://www.trch.co.uk/

59E59, New York

20 April - 22 May

Box office: +1 212-279-4200

http://www.59e59.org/

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