Photo Flash: UK Tour of SHADOWLANDS Kicks Off Today in Guildford

The 2016 national tour of William Nicholson's SHADOWLANDS, directed by Alastair Whatley, will open tonight 18 February at Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, with a national press night on Friday 26 February. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company in rehearsal below!

SHADOWLANDS will then tour to Salisbury, Eastbourne, Ipswich, Windsor, Croydon, Malvern, Worthing, Doncaster, Chesterfield, Birmingham, Portsmouth, Cardiff, Exeter and Richmond, with further dates to be announced.

The cast of SHADOWLANDS will be led by Stephen Boxer (Humans, The Iron Lady, Doctors) as C.S. Lewis, Denis Lill (The Royal, Only Fools and Horses, Rumpole of the Bailey) as Major W.H. Lewis 'Warnie' and Amanda Ryan (The Forsyte Saga, Shameless) as Joy Davidman. They will be joined by Simon Shackleton as Professor Christopher Riley, Jeffrey Harmer as Rev 'Harry' Harrington, Ian Marr as Alan Gregg, Richard Holliday as Dr Maurice Oakley and Shannon Rewcroft as Douglas, with Holly Smith and Alistair Higgins playing multiple supporting roles.

SHADOWLANDS, by William Nicholson, tells the love story of C.S. Lewis, Oxford don and author of The Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters, and American poet Joy Davidman. What begins as a formal meeting of two very different minds slowly develops into a feeling of connection and love. Lewis finds his quiet life with his brother Warnie disrupted by the outspoken, feisty Davidman, whose uninhibited behaviour offers a sharp contrast to the rigid sensibilities of the male-dominated university. Each provides the other with new ways of viewing the world, but Lewis's Christian faith is tested when Joy is diagnosed with cancer.

SHADOWLANDS won the Evening Standard Drama Award for Best Play in 1990 and Nicholson was nominated for a Tony Award when it transferred to Broadway. The film version, which starred Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger, won Best British Film at the 1994 BAFTAs and Nicholson was nominated for a Best Screenplay nomination.

SHADOWLANDS will have Lighting Design by Alex Wardle and Sound Design by Dominic Bilkey.

This major revival of SHADOWLANDS is produced by Birdsong Productions, the people behind the critically-acclaimed and hugely successful touring productions of Birdsong and Flare Path, in association with Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.

For more about the show, visit www.shadowlandstour.com.

Photo Credit: Jack Ladenburg

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