THE SCREENWRITER'S DAUGHTER Begins Next Month at Leicester Square Theatre

The Screenwriter's Daughter, a new American play about the life of the illustrious Hollywood icon, Ben Hecht, as seen through the tempestuous relationship between Ben and his free-spirited, young, 60s generation daughter Jenny, will get its European premiere in a five-week season in the Lounge at Leicester Square Theatre from Wednesday 28 October.

Press are invited to review on Friday 30 October at 7.00pm

Rich and powerful, Ben Hecht was a successful screenwriter, writing 120 screenplays during Hollywood's Golden Era, including many, like Gone With the Wind, without a screen credit. He wrote the classic gangster drama Scarface, won the first Oscar for Original Screenplay in 1927, and for Alfred Hitchcock he wrote a number of his best psycho-dramas, receiving his final Academy Award nomination for Notorious.

Hecht was blacklisted in the UK in the 40s and 50s for his political activism, but he has also been recognised for his human rights efforts in creating public awareness of the Holocaust and furthering the cause of Jews around the world.

In The Screenwriter's Daughter, written by highly regarded veteran Hollywood writer and playwright Larry Mollin, Hecht is 71, balding, urbane and cynical, and with an appreciation for the finer things in life. But his relationship with his daughter is difficult and, against her father's wishes, Jenny joins the revolutionary, avant garde theatre troupe, The Living Theatre, and lives with them in a commune in New York.

Starring Samantha Dakin, Paul Easom, Tom Hunter and Laura Pradelska.

Among his many credits, Larry is well-known for his lead creative and writing role on Aaron Spelling's hit television series Beverly Hills 90210. His new folk musical Search: Paul Clayton has been running recently off-Broadway in New York. The Screenwriter's Daughter will be directed by talented, up and coming, LAMDA-trained director Anna Ostergren who has half a dozen London productions to her credit and a large and growing fan club.

"The Screenwriter's Daughter is good entertainment - funny, touching, and innovatively staged, but more importantly it also manages to accomplish its writer's primary objective - bringing two overlooked, yet influential, fascinating, and complicated characters into 21st-century public consciousness. The play's wealth of biographical material makes one want to find out more about both Hecht and The Living Theater." - Gwyn McAllister - MV Times

Samantha Dakin

Samantha grew up in Northern California and moved to London to train at The Drama Centre. Her theatre work since graduating includes playing Joanna in Home Free! (The Nursery Theatre), Christina in The Rubber Room and Nurse in A Kid Like Jake (Old Vic New Voices), The Actress in The Emperor Self (Arcola) and Young Carrie in The Trip To Bountiful (Courtyard). Earlier this year she understudied the role of Catherine in the West End transfer of The Young Vic's acclaimed A View From The Bridge, directed by Ivo van Hove.

Paul Easom

Paul trained at The Actors' Centre, London and The Terry Schreiber Studio in New York. His extensive stage credits include King Lear (Almeida), The Dresser (Ambassadors), Death of a Salesman (Sheffield Crucible), A Tale of Two Cities (New Vic), Hamlet (Park Theatre).

Tom Hunter

Tom trained with RADA and The National Youth Theatre His credits include: Fedotik in The Three Sister (Cockpit), Rochester in The Libertine (King's Head), Billy Boy in The Poseidon (Leicester Theatre), Earl of Rochester in A Debt to Pleasure (Southwark Playhouse) and most recently creating the stage role of Det. David Mills in Secret Theatre's immersive world premiere of Se7en.

Laura Pradelska

Born and raised in Frankfurt, Germany, she graduated from Drama Centre London. In 2012 Laura was cast as "Quaithe", a recurring character in the second series of the global TV hit series, Game of Thrones. An enigmatic shadowbinder, preferring to speak in riddles and prophecies, Quaithe hides her true features behind a wooden, lacquered mask - and the role has led Laura to gain a huge fan following. Laura has four films due for release including the highly anticipated The Habit of Beauty, starring alongside Nick Moran and Noel Clarke.

Larry Mollin (writer)

Larry Mollin has been a producer and writer for TV and film for over 30 years. He's best known for his work on Beverly Hills, 90210 for which he wrote, produced and executive produced 128 hours from 1993-1998, the zenith of the show's popularity. From New York originally, he immigrated to Canada in 1969 and became a dynamic contributor to the Canadian theatre world as an actor, playwright and Artistic Director of the Homemade Theatre Company of Toronto, a seminal performance group of the 1970's. His folk musical, Search: Paul Clayton opened in New York in May. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

Anna Ostergren (Director)

Anna was born in Sweden. She trained at LAMDA (Post- Graduate Directors Course) and at the National Theatre Studio and resides in London. Her credits include: Changing Rooms by Marc Camelotti, Playing With Fire by Strindberg, Fraulein Else, (The Drayton Theatre), nominated for an Off West End Award Much Ado about Nothing (The Drayton Theatre), The Tempest (The Drayton Theatre), Frauline Else (RADA), Mad Mary Dancin', (Old Red Lion) Punk Princess (Theatre 503), Hooked (Edinburgh and London transfer). She is in post production with the TV pilot Rules about Making Money.

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