Official: James McAvoy Will Lead THE RULING CLASS at Trafalgar; Jamie Lloyd to Direct

BAFTA winning and Golden Globe nominated actor James McAvoy (Filth, The Last King of Scotland, Atonement, X-Men) returns to Trafalgar Transformed, following his performance in Jamie Lloyd's Macbeth, which launched the first Trafalgar Transformed season and earned him an Olivier award nomination for Best Actor, and for the production a nomination for Best Revival. McAvoy will play Jack, the 14th Earl of Gurney, in the first revival of Peter Barnes' satirical comedy, The Ruling Class, directed by Artistic Director, Jamie Lloyd. The production runs from 16 January to 11 April 2015, with press night on 27 January. Design is by Soutra Gilmour, with lighting by Jon Clark and sound by Ben and Max Ringham.

Jack, a possible paranoid schizophrenic with a Messiah complex, inherits the title of the 14th Earl of Gurney after his father passes away in a bizarre accident. Singularly unsuited to a life in the upper echelons of elite society, Jack finds himself at the centre of a ruthless power struggle as his scheming family strives to uphold their reputation.

Bubbling with acerbic wit and feverish energy, Olivier Award-winning and Oscar-nominated writer Peter Barnes' razor-sharp satire combines a ferocious mix of hilarity and horror whilst mercilessly exposing the foibles of the English nobility.

The Ruling Class premiered in 1968 at Nottingham Playhouse and promptly transferred to the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End where it won the Evening Standard Award for Best Drama in 1969. This black and caustic class comedy was then made into a movie in 1972 starring Peter O'Toole.

Jamie Lloyd said "I am honoured to be directing the first ever revival of Peter Barnes' anarchic cult comedy, which takes a satirical look at the Establishment and will, therefore, feel more politically resonant than ever in the run up to the General Election next year. With the news that James McAvoy could join us again, I felt that this vivid production of Barnes' explosively funny play should conclude the second Trafalgar Transformed season. James kick-started our ambitious venture with his incendiary Macbeth, so it feels as if everything has come full circle. I am delighted to introduce the work of Peter Barnes to our young and diverse audience at Trafalgar."

James McAvoy said "I had an incredible time in Trafalgar Transformed's Macbeth and couldn't wait to find something else to work on with Jamie Lloyd. Jamie, his producing partners and their team are committed to making theatre that is accessible to all. I love being a part of that and it has been great to see them transform the demographic of their West End audience, not least with the inspiring £15 Mondays initiative. I can't wait to play this challenging role in Barnes' forgotten masterpiece. This play combines all the things that Jamie's seasons are about, and for me what theatre is when it's at its best: it is wild, funny, shocking, subversive and brutal, and, most importantly, entertaining."

Peter Barnes (1931-2004) was an Olivier Award-winning playwright and screenwriter and the most produced living playwright of the Royal Shakespeare Company. The Ruling Class is his most famous play which received critical success when it premiered in 1968 at the Nottingham Playhouse before transferring to the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End. The play was then made into a film in 1972, for which Barnes wrote the screenplay, starring Peter O'Toole, who received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Jack. His other plays include The Bewitched, Jubilee, The Candlemaker, Laughter, Red Noses (which won an Olivier Award for Best Play), Sunset and Glories, Lunar Park Eclipsis and Corpsing. Barnes also worked on several adaptation including Wedekind's Lulu plays (which he co-directed), Jonson's The Devil Is An Ass (1973) and The Alchemist, and Feydeau's Scenes from a Marriage. In addition, he adapted Feydeau's On Purge Bebe and Wedekind's The Singer, entitled the Frontiers of Farce, for the Old Vic. After staging Jonson's Bartholomew's Fair (Round House, 1978) and co-directing Antonio (Nottingham Playhouse, 1978) from two plays by Marston, he directed Brian Friel's Translations (Hampstead Theatre and Lyttelton, 1981). His screenplay of Elizabeth von Arnim's novel Enchanted April was nominated for an Oscar and one of his last screenplays included Babies, a two-part drama for Granada, inspired by the media attention around him having a daughter and triplets in his late sixties.

In America, he is known for many top audience blockbuster miniseries including Merlin, Arabian Nights, Noah's Ark, Leprechauns, Alice In Wonderland and A Christmas Carol, a sharp contrast from his persona as a serious black comedy playwright. Other movies include, Voices, Moon and the Stars, Easy Virtue.

Trafalgar Transformed Artistic Director, Jamie Lloyd, presents another season of powerhouse plays in the reconfigured Trafalgar Studios. This is the second season of work produced by Jamie Lloyd Productions, a partnership between acclaimed director Jamie Lloyd and Ambassador Theatre Group. Richard III, starring Martin Freeman, East is East starring Jane Horrocks (currently running at Trafalgar Studios), and The Ruling Class, starring James McAvoy comprise the full second season for Trafalgar Transformed. These productions follow on from the dynamic first Trafalgar Transformed season, which launched with Macbeth also starring James McAvoy, followed by The Hothouse, starring John Simm and Simon Russell Beale and The Pride, with Hayley Atwell, Mathew Horne, Harry Hadden-Paton and Al Weaver.

Once again, the Trafalgar Transformed season will offer £15 Monday tickets for all productions, applicable on all seating, further encouraging first-time theatregoers to experience the exciting programming at the venue.

To post a comment, you must register and login.