Nigel Havers, Denis Lawson, and Stephen Tompkinson Will Lead 2019 UK Tour of ART

After breaking box office records in 2018, David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers will produce the 2019 UK tour of the Old Vic production of Yasmina Reza's Olivier, Tony and Moliere award-winning comedy ART, translated by Christopher Hampton. The production will star Nigel Havers, Denis Lawson and Stephen Tompkinson as Serge, Marc and Ivan respectively. The tour will open at Chichester Festival Theatre on 24 January 2019.

David Pugh said, "Dafydd [Rogers] and I have been privileged to produce Yasmina Reza's modern comedy masterpiece for over twenty years now. It is no exaggeration to call it one of the most successful plays of all time, and we are excited to bring this production to even more audiences throughout the country on its 2019 tour."

Nigel Havers's films include Chariots of Fire, A Passage to India, Empire of the Sun and The Whistle Blower. He has starred in many television productions, including The Charmer, Dangerfield, Manchild, and, more recently, the hit US series Brothers and Sisters, Lewis Archer in Coronation Street, Benidorm and Lord Hepworth in Downton Abbey. His theatre work includes The Importance of Being Earnest and Harold Pinter's Family Voices, both directed by Sir Peter Hall for the National Theatre, Richard II and Man and Superman for the RSC, the hugely successful touring productions of Rebeccaand Alan Bennett's Single Spies.

Denis Lawson is known for his roles as John Jarndyce in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House, for which he was nominated for both a BAFTA and an EMMY award, and as DI Steve McAndrew in BBC1's hit series New Tricks. In film, his notable credits include the roles of Gordon Urquhart in the film Local Hero and Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy. On stage, he won an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Jim Lancastar in Mr Cinders at the Fortune Theatre, and he was nominated for an Olivier for his performance as George in La Cages Aux Folles at the Playhouse Theatre.

Stephen Tompkinson's television credits include BBC's The Split, five series of DCI Banks, four series of Trollied, seven series of Wild at Heart, six series of Drop the Dead Donkey (British Comedy Award Winner for Best TV Comedy Actor) and three series of Ballykissangel, and his films include Phil in Brassed Off. His theatre work includes Spamalot, Rattle of a Simple Man and Arsenic and Old Lace in the West End, Cloaca and A Christmas Carol (Old Vic) and Tartuffe (National Tour).

Based on the original production by Matthew Warchus, ART will be directed by Ellie Jones, with design by Mark Thompson, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, sound design by Mic Pool, original music by Gary Yershon, fight direction by Terry King and casting by Sarah Bird CDG.

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