BAFTA Award Winning Kimberly Nixon Replaces Hannah Anderton In ORIGINAL DEATH RABBIT

Following the withdrawal of Hannah Arterton due to filming schedule changes, Jermyn Street Theatre announces today that Kimberly Nixon will star in the stage premiere of Rose Heiney's Original Death Rabbit, the opening production in their PORTRAIT season. The BAFTA Award winning actress will take the role of a young woman who becomes an internet sensation, just as the rest of her life falls apart.

We all have our comfort blankets and coping mechanisms. And if yours happens to be wearing a full-sized rabbit onesie (with ears), what's the problem? You're not bothering anyone. At least, not until you're photographed at the back of a child's funeral. Dressed as a rabbit. And the photo goes viral.

Original Death Rabbit, which runs from January 9 to February 9, is a tale of our time, that shines a light on one woman's struggle with the dark side of the internet. Rose Heiney's incisive comedy, now rewritten for the stage, was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2017.

Kimberley Nixon is a BAFTA Award-winning actress, best known for her role in Channel 4's Fresh Meat, Ordinary Lies and Cranford for the BBC and Critical on Sky One. Feature films include Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, Wild Child, East Virtue, Offender and Cherrybomb. Theatre credits include the eponymous role in Girl With A Pearl Earring at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and numerous plays for Radio 4.

Rose Heiney is a screenwriter, playwright and novelist. Her first play, Elephants, sold out at Hampstead Theatre. Television writing includes Miranda and Fresh Meat. Her first novel, The Days of Judy B, was nominated for The Times/South Bank Show Breakthrough Award. She is currently writing a film for Working Title and Studio Canal.

Hannah Joss was previously Baylis Assistant Director at the Old Vic Theatre and is currently a Resident Director at the Almeida Theatre.

Jermyn Street Theatre's PORTRAIT SEASON, which runs from January to July 2019, also includes the stage premiere of Rose Heiney's Original Death Rabbit (9 January to 9 February), the new play Mary's Babies by Maud Dromgoole (20 March to 13 April), Howard Brenton's return adaptation of August Strindberg's Miss Julie and new adaptation of Creditors (25 April to 1 June) and Pictures Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde in an adaptation by Lucy Shaw (5 June to 6 July)

Jermyn Street Theatre is celebrating its 25th birthday as an independent theatre in the heart of the West End. It has won numerous awards, and transferred many productions to the West End and Broadway. Its co-Founders, Penny Horner and Howard Jameson, serve as Executive Director and Chair of the Board respectively. Two years ago, new Artistic Director Tom Littler relaunched the theatre as a producing house. Jermyn Street Theatre is a signatory to the Equity Fringe Agreement, and is committed to equal gender representation.