Photo Flash: First Look at Joshua Silver, Yolanda Kettle and More in A TALE OF TWO CITIES

Royal & Derngate's Made in Northampton season starts with the world premiere of a new adaptation by Mike Poulton of Charles Dickens' literary masterpiece A Tale Of Two Cities. Directed by the theatre's new Artistic Director James Dacre and with music by the Oscar-winning Rachel Portman, this epic theatrical event takes to Northampton's Royal stage from Friday 21 February to Saturday 15 March. Check out a first look below!

In an age when governments across the world seem impotent in the face of increasing unrest, this new dramatic adaptation by Mike Poulton (Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Fortune's Fool at the Old Vic) seems more relevant than ever. Directed by James Dacre (The Accrington Pals, 4000 Miles, The Mountaintop, The Body of an American) with design by Mike Britton (Macbeth, Shakespeare's Globe; Broken Glass, West End), the play includes rousing original music by Oscar-winning composer Rachel Portman (The Cider House Rules, Beloved). With movement direction by Struan Leslie, former Head of Movement at the Royal Shakespeare Company, it will feature one of the largest acting companies ever to appear on the Royal's stage.

The ensemble cast includes Filter Artistic Director Oliver Dimsdale, Olivier Award-winning actress Abigail McKern, recent graduate Joshua Silver (Trelawny of the Wells at Donmar Warehouse, A Midsummer Night's Dream at Shakespeare's Globe), Yolanda Kettle (A Doll's House in the West End), along with Ignatius Anthony, Christopher Good, Michael Mears, Sean Murray, Christopher Hunter and Mairead McKinley.

This company of ten will perform alongside a large chorus drawn from the local community, to capture the turbulence, anarchy and romance of London and Paris during the tumultuous years of the French revolution.

A Tale Of Two Cities can be seen at Royal & Derngate, Northampton from Friday 21 February to Saturday 15 March, with evening performances at 7.45pm (7pm on Tuesday 25 February) and matinees most Thursdays and Saturdays at 2.30pm. Tickets priced from £29 to £10* can be booked by calling Box Office on 01604 624811 or online at www.royalandderngate.co.uk.

Photo Credit: Robert Day