Trudie Goodwin to Star in MRS REYNOLDS AND THE RUFFIAN at Watford Palace, 4/15-5/8

Mrs Reynolds and the Ruffian By Gary Owen

Directed by Brigid Larmour
15 April - 8 May
Press Night: 20 April at 7.45pm

Trudie Goodwin, perhaps best known as Sergeant June Ackland in The Bill will star as Mrs Reynolds in the world premiere of Mrs Reynolds and the Ruffian, a play about modern Britain by Gary Owen, Watford Associate and writer of the 2007 hit, We That Are Left.

Mrs Reynolds, is a "little old lady" and Jay, a troubled youth caught vandalising her garden. As ‘community payback' Jay is sent back to help Mrs Reynolds fix the damage he caused. At first glance this is a simple tale of two generations locked in battle, Mrs Reynolds standing up for traditional values with her "nice little house, nice little garden and nice little life" vs Jay, the textbook chain-smoking hoodie prowling the urban jungle demanding respect but offering little in return.
But there is more to these characters than the other suspects. Just as they think they have the measure of each other something is revealed and they are shocked by what they find out.Mrs Reynolds and the Ruffian explores human nature and friendship alongside the social climate of modern Britain giving a warm, funny and wise glimpse into the way we live now.

Trudie Goodwin appeared as Sergeant June Ackland in The Bill from 1983 until 2007 making her the longest serving cast member of The Bill. Theatre work includes; Twelfth Night (Swan Theatre), Drink the Mercury, Lucy in the Sky and Dragon Rock (all Phoenix Theatre), Godspell (Young Vic), Womerang (Soho Poly), The Beggars Opera (Lyric Hammersmith) and I Do Like to Be (Tricycle Theatre).

The cast includes Morgan Watkins as Jay (Mother Courage and Her Children - National Theatre and Peep Show - Channel 4), Ricci

McLeod as Kieran (Gone Too Far and Catch - Royal Court), Suzie McGrath as Mel (Must Feed Daddy - Royal Court and Crazy Love - Paines Plough) and Annie Hemingway as Cassie (Breakfast at Tiffany's - Theatre Royal Haymarket and Baghdad Wedding - Soho Theatre).

Playwright Gary Owen has been a Creative Associate of Watford Palace Theatre since and his play We That Are Left was commissioned and directed by Brigid Larmour in 2007. Plays include Crazy Gary's Mobile Disco (Paines Plough and Sgript Cymru), The Shadow of a Boy (Royal National Theatre), The Drowned World (Paines Plough) which won a Fringe First, Amser Canser (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama) which was produced in English as Cancer Time (Theatre 503), SK8. Young Company (The Drum, Plymouth), Ghost City (Sgript Cymru), An Enemy for the People, Mary Twice (Bridgend County Youth Theatre), Big Hopes (National Theatre Education/Prince's Trust) Amgen:Broken (Sherman Cymru), A Christmas Carol (Sherman Cymru). Upcoming projects include; Free Folk (Forest Forge), an adaptation of Spring Awakening (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama), Blackthorn (commissioned by Hampstead Theatre and Clwyd Theatr Cymru), Voices Wales, Love Steals Us From Loneliness (National Theatre Wales) and Paradise for Sale (National Theatre of Scotland).

Brigid Larmour has been Artistic Director of Watford Palace Theatre since 2006 in which time she has directed Alan Bennett's Enjoy, We That are Left and My Mother Said I Never Should by Charlotte Keatley. From 1998 - 2006 she was Artistic Director of ACT Productions during which time she produced Lee Hall's Spoonface Steinberg, Krapp's Last Tape (Gate Theatre), Noises Off, Epitah for George Dillon, And Then There Were None and collaborations including Humble Boy, Don Carlos and Mary Stuart. Brigid developed a series of promenade Shakespeare plays, Shakespeare Unplugged, for RNT Education. Prior to this Brigid was Artistic Director of Contact Theatre in Manchester between 1989 and 1994.

LISTINGS INFORMATION
Theatre: Watford Palace Theatre

Dates: 15 April - 8 May

Previews: 15 - 19 April at 7.45pm (Palace Preview Tickets £10)

Press Night: 20 April 2010 at 7.45pm

Performances: Tuesday - Saturday at 7.45pm

Matinees: 28 April, 1, 6, 8 May at 2.30pm

Tickets: £11.50 - £22.50

Box Office: 01923 225 671

Website: www.watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk

 

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