Cast Announced for THE HAIRY APE, May-June at the Southwalk Playhouse

Cartwright Productions and Creature of London have announced the cast for their production of The Hairy Ape by Eugene O'Neill, which is scheduled to play 16th of May to 9th June, 2012 at the Southwark Playhouse. The opening night is the 18th of May. The show is directed by Kate Budgen and designed by Jean Chan, with lighting design by Richard Howell and sound design by Tom Gibbons.

The full cast will be Stephen Bisland, Emma King, Gary Lilburn, Patrick Myles, James McGregor, Mitchell Mullen, Lizzie Roper, Bill Ward and Mark Weinman.

Stephen Bisland trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. The Hairy Ape is his professional stage debut.

Emma King trained at Central School of Speech and Drama. Theatre includes 50/50 (Hampstead Theatre/The Factory), Butter No Parsnips (Arcola), Cymbeline (The Factory), A Will And No Will, Miss In Her Teens (White Bear Theatre).

Gary Lilburn trained at Drama Centre London. Theatre includes Buried Child (Leicester Curve), 16 Possible Glimpses (Abbey Theatre, Dublin), Loot (Hull Truck), The Hostage (Southwark Playhouse), Calendar Girls (West End, Chichester Playhouse), The Man Who Had All The Luck (Donmar Warehouse), The Quare Fellow (Tricycle Theatre), Hen House (Arcola), The Golden Ass / A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare's Globe), Buried Alive (Hampstead), The Weir (Royal Court), Angles And Saints (Soho Theatre), The Measels (Gate), Rhinoceros (Riverside Studios) and Desire Under The Elmes (Shared Experience).

Patrick Myles trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Theatre includes The Black Diamond (Punchdrunk), Romeo and Juliet (Creation Theatre), Mind the Gap (Y Touring), The Spanish Tragedy, Pera Palas andTartuffe (Arcola Theatre), The Lady's Not for Burning, The Freedom of the City (Finborough Theatre), The Revenger's Tragedy (Southwark Playhouse), A Chorus of Disapproval, Icons, Everafter (Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough), Love's a Luxury (Orange Tree Theatre), The Playing Fields (Wimbledon Studio), Victoria Station (King's Head). Film and television includes The Bill, Secret Smile and Planespotting, The Honeypot Killers, Invisibles, Head vs Heart and Red Thursday.

James McGregor trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Theatre includes Palace Balls (Jermyn Street Theatre), The Merchant Of Venice (Rose Theatre, Bankside) and The Alchemist (White Bear Theatre).

Mitchell Mullen's theatre credits include Ragtime (Landor Theatre), The Shawshank Redemption, (Gaiety Theatre, Dublin and West End), August: Osage County (National Theatre), As You Like It (West End and US National Tour), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (West End and US National Tour), Speed-the-Plow (Theatre Royal Winchester), Fool for Love (GBS Theatre) and The Canterville Ghost (Southwark Playhouse). Film and Television includes The Pirates!, Filth, Red Lights, Made in Dagenham, A Good Year, Big Nothing, Red Faction: Origins, Infinite Justice, Seconds from Disaster: Waco Seige and ChuckleVision.

Lizzie Roper's theatre credits include One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Garrick Theatre), The Odd Couple (Edinburgh Festival), Betwixt (Trafalgar Studios) and The Biting Point (Theatre 503).

Bill Ward's theatre credits include Million Dollar Quartet (Noel Coward Theatre, West End), The Lady From The Sea (Manchester Royal Exchange), The Tempest (Guildford Shakespeare Company), Look Back In Anger (Northern Stage and National Tour), Edward II (BAC), Spamalot (Palace Theatre, West End), Harriott And I (Manchester Royal Exchange Studio), Destiny (BAC), Oh! What A Lovely War (Clwyd Theatr Cymru), Around The World In Eighty Days (BAC), Japes (Theatre Royal Haymarket), A Chorus Of Disapproval (Bristol Old Vic), The Beggar's Opera (Bristol Old Vic), Antigone (Bristol Old Vic) and Uncle Ebenezer- A Christmas Carol (BAC).

Mark Weinman studied Drama at the University of Manchester. Theatre credits include The Emperor Jones (National Theatre), Captain Amazing (Live Theatre, Newcastle), Some Scary Stories (Royal Exchange Theatre), Step 9 (Of 12) (Nominated for Best Actor at the OffWestEnd Awards), FastBurn (KneeHigh), Herons (Stephen Joseph / Library Theatre), Amphibians (Bridewell Theatre), Edmond (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Still Killing Time, Eating Ice Cream on Gaza Beach (Soho Theatre/NYT), Sandy 123 (Roundhouse), Selling Clive (Lost Theatre) and Scenes from Abroad (Watford Palace Theatre).

The Hairy Ape takes place in New York City, 1922. Yank has spent his life shovelling coal on an ocean liner. Brutish, powerful and commanding, he knows where he belongs: in the stokehold. But when the daughter of a wealthy industrialist decides to slum it and see life below deck, Yank's universe changes forever. Unable to forget the way she looked at him, Yank hits the booming streets of New York to seek revenge.

With unflinching theatrical force and explosive lyricism, Eugene O'Neill explores the tragedy of a forgotten voice and the perennial human need to belong,
In its first major London revival in 25 years, The Hairy Ape offers a startlingly relevant story in an atmospheric and muscular new production, directed by Kate Budgen.

Writer Eugene O'Neil is one of the fathers of modern American drama, pioneering the type of plays that would come to dominate American theatre in the twentieth century. He was awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature and the Pultizer Prize for Drama on four separate occasions. Plays include Beyond the Horizon, Anna Christie, The Emperor Jones, Strange Interlude and The Iceman Cometh. One of his most famous plays, Long Day's Journey into Night, is currently being revived in the West End, starring David Suchet.

Director Kate Budgen completed an MFA in Theatre Directing at Birkbeck College in 2007 and was Associate Director at Shropshire based Pentabus Theatre from 2008-2011. Recent directing credits include Rigor Mortis (Papatango/Finborough Theatre), Crossed Keys (Eastern Angles), A New Breed (Jersey Arts Trust), May Fair (Latitude Festival), Tales of the Country (Pentabus Theatre National Tour), Miriam Gonzalez Durantez (Theatre 503) and Bedbound (Lion and Unicorn). She has worked as an Assistant Director for the Gate Theatre, Almeida Theatre, The Opera Group, Pentabus Theatre and for Opera North. She completed The National Theatre Studio Director Course in May 2010 and she was previously a Creative Associate at the Bush Theatre. She was a runner up in the 2010 JMK Award with The Hairy Ape.

 

Performances are 16 May – 9 June 2012, Monday to Saturday at 7.45pm and Saturday matinees at 3.15pm. Tickets are £10, £14 and £18 from www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk and 020 7407 0234.

To post a comment, you must register and login.