The Old Vic's INHERIT THE WIND Closes 20 Dec.

David Troughton joins Kevin Spacey to lead the cast in Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's explosive courtroom classic Inherit the Wind directed by Trevor Nunn. Inherit the Wind is a gripping and extraordinarily relevant drama in which two legal titans, Henry Drummond (Kevin Spacey) and Matthew Harrison Brady (David Troughton) confront each other when a close knit community puts freedom of thought on trial.

Inherit the Wind plays at The Old Vic, London 18 September - 20 December 2009, with a Press Night set for Thursday, 1 October 2009.

When schoolteacher Bertram Cates violates a state law, he finds himself at the centre of a court case that not only shakes the United States but resonates across the world. Considered one of the great American plays of the twentieth century, Inherit the Wind is inspired by the famous 1925 Scopes ‘Monkey' Trial in which science teacher John Scopes was accused of violating a Tennessee state statute by teaching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to his students. First performed on Broadway in 1955, Inherit the Wind was also made into a hugely popular film starring Spencer Tracy and Gene Kelly in 1960, receiving four Academy Award nominations. This production marks the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his ‘The Origin of Species'.

Trevor Nunn says: "I directed scenes from this remarkable play when I was a student, and realized then just how electric and involving it could be for audiences. So I feel unusually fulfilled, more than a generation later, to be able to direct Kevin Spacey and David Troughton in this Titanic clash of ideas. The debate it presents, that goes to the heart of what freedom means in America, continues to find its way into the courtrooms of the United States in Darwin's Anniversary year. Somehow, I don't think Jerome Lawrence and Robert E.Lee would be surprised".

Kevin Spacey plays Henry Drummond. He has previously appeared in The Old Vic Theatre Company's productions National Anthems, The Philadelphia Story, Richard II directed by Trevor Nunn and A Moon for the Misbegotten, which subsequently transferred to the Brooks Atkinson Theater New York, and most recently in Speed-the-Plow with Jeff Goldblum. Previous theatre includes The Iceman Cometh (Evening Standard and Olivier Awards for Best Actor, and Tony Award nomination) directed by Howard Davies (Almeida, The Old Vic and Broadway), Lost in Yonkers (Tony Award, Best Supporting Actor), Long Day's Journey into Night, with Jack Lemmon, directed by Jonathan Miller (Broadway and West End). He directed The Old Vic's inaugural production Cloaca and earlier this year directed Complicit starring Richard Dreyfuss. He also sometimes works in the film industry.

David Troughton plays Matthew Harrison Brady. An award-winning Richard III, and a wellknown face from stage and screen, David's previous theatre work includes Enjoy (Bath Theatre Royal and West End), Playing with Fire, Measure for Measure, Peter Pan (National Theatre), The Skin of Our Teeth (Young Vic), Our Father (Almeida), The Fool, Loot (Royal Court) as well as many productions at the RSC including Macbett, Macbeth, Henry IV Pt 1&2, Richard II, Richard III (Globe Theatre Award, Best Actor), The Tempest, King Lear, Troilus & Cressida, The Venetian Twins and The Cherry Orchard. Recent television and film credits include New Tricks (BBC), Casualty 1909 (BBC), Dr Who (BBC), Fingersmith (BBC), Twelfth Night (Projector), Madame Bovary (BBC) and Nouvelle France (Bespoke Films).

The company includes: Paris Arrowsmith, Paul Birchard, Ken Bones, Adam Booth, David Burrows, Sonya Cassidy, Ian Conningham, Sam Cox, Mark Dexter, Mary Doherty, Branwell Donaghey, Janine Duvitski, Sarah Ingram, Nicholas Jones, Sid Livingstone, Simon Lee Phillips, Sam Phillips, Vincent Pirillo, Christopher Ragland, Susan Tracy, Janet Whiteside.

From 1968 to 1986, Trevor Nunn was the youngest and longest serving Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the RSC. During that time, he directed most of the Shakespeare canon, as well as Nicholas Nickleby (five Tony Awards) and Les Misérables, the longest running musical in the world. He recently returned to the RSC to direct King Lear and The Seagull. From 1997 to 2003, he was Director of the National Theatre, where his twenty-one productions included award-winning revivals of Troilus and Cressida, The Merchant of Venice, Summerfolk and The Cherry Orchard, as well as Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady and Anything Goes. He has directed the world premieres of Arcadia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, The Coast of Utopia and Rock n Roll by Tom Stoppard, and of Cats, Starlight Express, Aspects of Love, Sunset Boulevard and The Woman in White by Andrew Lloyd Webber. More recent theatre work includes Timon of Athens and Skellig (Young Vic) and The Lady From The Sea (Almeida). At The Old Vic he directed Hamlet (Olivier Award) and Kevin Spacey in Richard II. Most recent work includes Scenes from a Marriage (Coventry), A Little Night Music (Menier Chocolate Factory and West End) and Cyrano de Bergerac (Chichester Festival Theatre). His opera productions include Idomeneo, Porgy and Bess, Cosi Fan Tutte and Peter Grimes (Glyndebourne) and Katya Kabanova and Sophie's Choice (Royal Opera House). Work for television includes Antony and Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, Three Sisters, Othello and King Lear and on film Hedda, Lady Jane and Twelfth Night.

Director Trevor Nunn
Designer Rob Howell
Costume Designers Rob Howell and Irene Bohan
Lighting Howard Harrison
Sound Fergus O'Hare
Casting Maggie Lunn
Presented by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Ltd

Throughout the run of Inherit the Wind, The Old Vic will have performances on Sundays with no performances on Monday.

The Old Vic would like to thank the Biffaward for supporting the replacement of the stalls auditorium seats in preparation for The Old Vic Theatre Company's sixth season. Biffaward is a multi-million pound environment fund managed by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT), which utilises landfill tax credits donated by Biffa Waste Services.

BOX OFFICE
0844 871 7628
www.oldvictheatre.com
The Old Vic, The Cut, London SE1 8NB
18 September - 20 December
Tue - Sat 7.30pm; Sat 2.30pm & Sun 5pm; Sun 29 Nov 3pm
No Sunday performances on 20 Sept, 1 Nov & no matinee Sat 26 Sept.
Previews: 18 - 30 Sept.
Press Performance: Thu 1 Oct 7pm
Captioned performance: Thu 5 Nov
Audio Described performance: Thu 12 Nov

TICKETS
£10, £15, £20, £28.50, £38.50, £48.50

CONCESSIONS
The Aditya Mittal tickets: 100 £12 tickets at all performances. Bookable in advance for the under 25s but tickets must be collected in person from the Box Office with proof of age.
Senior Citizens: Best available seats for £25 Wed & Sat matinees & Sun performances.
Groups 10+: £10 off top 3 prices for Mon-Wed eves, Sun performances & Wed matinees
Schools 10+: £10 for Mon-Wed evenings and Wed matinees
Disabled Patrons: Top 3 prices reduced to £21 for all performances
Previews: £2.50 off top 3 prices (Old Vic Friends £5 off) 18 - 30 Sept

All concessions are limited and subject to availability.

All 2009/10 ticket prices (apart from Aditya Mittal under 25s tickets & schools tickets) include a
£1 restoration levy.

For more information, visit www.oldvictheatre.com.

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