Sheffield Theatres Announces Casting for STEEL and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres Robert Hastie today announces the full cast for the world première of Chris Bush's Steel, and his major new revival of William Shakespeare's classic A Midsummer Night's Dream.

For Steel, Rebecca Frecknall directs Nigel Betts (Ian/Dai) and Rebecca Scroggs (Vanessa/Josie). The production opens on 17 September, with previews from 13 September, and runs until 6 October.

For A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hastie directs Patricia Allison (Hermia), Donna Berlin (Starveling), Phil Cheadle (Theseus/Oberon), Pandora Colin (Titania/Hippolyta), Bobby Delaney (Puck/Philostrate), Liam Gerrard (Snout), Rebecca Jayne-Davies (First Fairy), Toheeb Jimoh (Demetrius), Lorne MacFadyen (Lysander), Evelyn Miller (Helena), Francesca Mills (Snug), Sophia Nomvete (Quince), Daniel Rigby (Bottom), and Samuel Townsend (Flute). The production opens on 2 October, with previews from 28 September, and runs until 20 October.

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STEEL By Chris Bush

13 September - 6 October 2018

Cast: Nigel Betts (Ian/Dai) and Rebecca Scroggs (Vanessa/Josie)

Director: Rebecca Frecknall; Designer: Madeleine Girling; Lighting Designer: Jack Knowles

Sound Designer and Composer: James Frewer; Casting: Anna Cooper CDG

'I am the Labour Party candidate. Now ask me why.'

'Why?'

'Because I am the best damn person for the job.'

The top candidate without question, Vanessa was made to be Mayor. Thirty years prior, Josie just wants things to change and seeks a seat on the local council. This witty new play by Chris Bush explores the last three decades of women in politics, asking what's changed and what still must.

Chris Bush is a Sheffield-born playwright, lyricist and theatre-maker. She is currently a resident artist for Sheffield Theatres, where her previous credits include What We Wished For, A Dream and The Sheffield Mysteries. Her upcoming work includes Pericles (National Theatre) and The Changing Room (NT Connections 2018). Other work includes The Assassination of Katie Hopkins (Theatre Clwyd), A Declaration from the People (National Theatre), Larksong (New Vic Theatre), Cards on the Table (Royal Exchange Manchester), ODD (Royal & Derngate concert performance), Sleight & Hand (Summerhall and BBC Arts), TONY! The Blair Musical (York Theatre Royal and UK tour), Poking the Bear (Theatre503) and Wolf (National Theatre Studio reading).

Nigel Betts plays Ian/Dai. Theatre credits include Albion (Almeida Theatre), Three Days in the Country (National Theatre), Wonderland (Hampstead Theatre), Pastoral (Soho Theatre), One Man Two Guv'nors, War Horse (National Theatre and West End), The 39 Steps, Up'n'Under, Henry IV, As You Like It (West End), Tinderbox (Bush Theatre), and A New Way to Please You, Sejanus: His Fall, Thomas More, Night of the Soul (RSC). For television, his recent work includes Trollied, Scarborough, Outlander, Little Boy Blue, Bliss, Bounty Hunters, Death in Paradise, Boy Meets Girl, Vera, Class, The Coroner, DCI Banks, New Tricks, You, Me & Them, Doctor Who, Waterloo Road and Downton Abbey; and for film, David Copperfield, Undercliffe, The Christmas Candle, Lipstikka, Desert Flower, Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution, In Your Dreams, Chain Male, Cheeky, Harold the Amazing Contortionist Pig, Keen Eddie and Thunderpants.

Rebecca Scroggs returns to Sheffield Theatres to play Vanessa/Josie - she previously appeared in One Monkey Don't Stop No Show (Eclipse Theatre co-production). For theatre, her other work includes What Shadows (Birmingham Rep), The Suicide, Danton's Death (National Theatre), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Filter Theatre/Lyric Hammersmith), Dream Story (Gate Theatre), Doris Day, Fatal Light (Clean Break) and Detaining Justice (Tricycle Theatre). For television, her work includes Flack, as series regular Tosh in EastEnders, Plenty More Fish and Death in Paradise.

Rebecca Frecknall directs. As director, her credits include Summer and Smoke (Almeida Theatre - transferring to the Duke of York's Theatre in November), Educating Rita (Durham Gala), Julie, What Are They Like? and Idomeneus (Northern Stage), You, Me, and Everything Else (Soho Theatre and UK tour), Aftermath (Royal & Derngate), A Streetcar Named Desire Parallel Production (Young Vic), Something Cloudy, Something Clear (Greenwich Theatre) and Bassett (New Diorama). As Associate Director, her credits include Ink (Almeida Theatre and Duke of York's Theatre) and James and the Giant Peach (Northern Stage). Frecknall received a Jerwood Assistant Director Bursary to train at the Young Vic and was the 2012 recipient of the National Theatre Studio's Resident Director Bursary. In 2015 she won the acclaimed Regional Theatres Young Directors Scheme Bursary and was Resident Director at Northern Stage for 18 months.

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A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM By William Shakespeare

28 September - 20 October 2018

Cast: Patricia Allison (Hermia), Donna Berlin (Starveling), Phil Cheadle (Theseus/Oberon), Pandora Colin (Titania/Hippolyta), Bobby Delaney (Puck/Philostrate), Liam Gerrard (Snout), Rebecca Jayne-Davies (First Fairy), Toheeb Jimoh (Demetrius), Lorne MacFadyen (Lysander), Evelyn Miller (Helena), Francesca Mills (Snug), Sophia Nomvete (Quince), Daniel Rigby (Bottom), Samuel Townsend (Flute)

Director: Robert Hastie; Designer: Chiara Stephenson

Lighting Designer: Richard Howell; Composer: Dan Gillespie Sells; Sound Designer: Nick Greenhill

Casting Director: Robert Sterne CDG

"The course of true love never did run smooth."

Desperate lovers, squabbling supernaturals and a hapless troupe of amateur actors get tangled in this joyous tale of enchantment and transformation.

Full of magic and mayhem, this is Shakespeare's most celebrated comedy, reimagined by Artistic Director, Robert Hastie with co-creator of Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Dan Gillespie Sells, in a fresh production brimming with musicality.

Patricia Allison plays Hermia. Her theatre credits include The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Our Town (Manchester Royal Exchange) and Henry V (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre). For television, her work includes Sex Education, Moving On, Les Miserables and Thanks for the Memories.

Donna Berlin returns to Sheffield Theatres to play Starveling - she previously appeared in Of Kith and Kin (also Bush Theatre). Her other theatre The Chalk Garden (Chichester Festival Theatre), Great Apes (Arcola Theatre), Anna Karenina, Rolling Stone (Royal Exchange Manchester/West Yorkshire Playhouse), Blood Wedding, The Bacchae (Royal & Derngate), Elmina's Kitchen (UK tour, Garrick Theatre) and Puffins (Nabokov/Southwark Playhouse).For television, her work includes Requiem, Game Face, Todd Margaret, New Tricks, Extras, Lead Balloon and Beautiful People; and for film In Darkness, Monochrome, Dinner with My Sisters and Pink Floyd's The Wall. Also a choreographer and movement director, where her credits include Waves and Attempts on Her Life (National Theatre).

Phil Cheadle plays Theseus/Oberon. His theatre credits include Table (New Vic Theatre), The Cardinal (Southwark Playhouse), Breaking The Code (Royal Exchange Theatre), Henry V (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre), The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (Chichester Festival Theatre), Mrs. A?eck (National Theatre), Henry IV, Bedlam (Shakespeare's Globe), The Changeling (UK tour/Barbican), Neighbourhood Watch (Stephen Joseph Theatre/Tricycle Theatre/59E59 Theater), Dear Uncle (Stephen Joseph Theatre) and Events While Guarding The Bofors Gun, Variation on a Theme (Finborough Theatre). His television credits include New Worlds; and for film, John Carter of Mars.

Pandora Colin returns to Sheffield Theatres to play Titania/Hippolyta - she previously appeared in The Country Wife and Julius Caesar. Her theatre credits include Top Trumps, Natural Selection (Theatre503), The Vote (Donmar Warehouse), Cornelius - Brits Off Broadway (59E59 Theater), The Dark Earth and The Light Sky, The House of Bernarda Alba (Almeida Theatre), After The Dance, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Some Trace of Her, Women of Troy (National Theatre), Stephen and The Sexy Partridge (Trafalgar Studios), If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet (Bush Theatre), Serious Money (Birmingham Rep), Kindertransport, The Kiss (Hampstead Theatre) and Mariana Pineda (Arcola Theatre). Her television credits include Delicious, Penny Dreadful, NY-LON; and for film, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, The Lady in the Van, I Give It a Year, A Bunch of Amateurs and Run, Fat Boy, Run.

Bobby Delaney plays Puck/Philostrate. His theatre credits include Annie (Piccadilly Theatre), The Witches, Miss Craig (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Henry V (Regents Park Open Air Theatre), Calamity Jane (The Watermill Theatre and UK tour), Spamalot (Harold Pinter Theatre), The History Boys (Chichester Festival Theatre), Oh What a Lovely War (Haymarket, Basingstoke), All's Well that Ends Well (National Theatre) and A Taste of Honey (Salisbury Playhouse).

Liam Gerrard plays Snout. His theatre credits include The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Royal Lyceum Theatre), Robin Hood and Marian (New Vic Theatre), Symphony (Soho Theatre/Nabokov), The Life and Times of Mitchell and Kenyon (Oldham Coliseum Theatre/The Dukes), Miss Julie (Royal Exchange Manchester), The Tempest (Watford Palace Theatre), Soul Man (Stephen Joseph Theatre/New Vic Theatre), Tom's Midnight Garden, The Maid of Buttermere, 'Twas The Night Before Christmas (Theatre by the Lake) and Romeo and Juliet (Northern Broadsides).

Rebecca Jayne-Davies plays First Fairy. Her theatre credits include Pinocchio (National Theatre), Half a Sixpence (Noël Coward Theatre), Legally Blonde, The Water Babies (Curve), Kiss Me Kate (Théâtre du Châtelet), Anything Goes (UK tour), Jersey Boys (Piccadilly Theatre) and West Side Story (RSC).

Toheeb Jimoh plays Demetrius. He recently graduated from Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His other theatre work includes Talk to the Dog (T'rah and Chips Theatre Ensemble).

Lorne MacFadyen plays Lysander. His theatre work includes Certain Young Men (National Theatre), Five Finger Exercise (The Print Room), The Country Wife, The Merchant of Venice, A View from the Bridge, Antigone (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) and Paul Bright's Confessions of a Justified Singer (National Theatre of Scotland). For television, his work includes Tina and Bobby, Grantchester, The Level, West Skerra Light and Shetland: Blue Lighting; and for film Outlaw King, The Little Stranger, The Angel's Share and Exchange and Mart.

Evelyn Miller plays Helena. Her theatre credits include The Taming Of The Shrew, Richard III (international tour), Jane Eyre (National Theatre and UK tour), Richard II, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Henry V, The Famous Victories of Henry V (RSC), Romeo and Juliet (Orange Tree Theatre), Peer Gynt (Barbican with the BBC Symphony Orchestra), The Little Prince (Royal Opera House) and Swallows and Amazons (Bristol Old Vic).

Francesca Mills plays Snug. Her theatre credits include Pity (Royal Court Theatre), The Two Noble Kinsman (Shakespeare's Globe), A Tale of Two Cities (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre), Cyrano de Bergerac (Northern Broadsides/UK tour), A Pacifist's Guide to the War on Cancer (National Theatre/Complicité), The Government Inspector (Birmingham Rep/UK tour) and See How They Run (UK tour). Her television credits include Harlots; and for film, Zoolander 2.

Sophia Nomvete returns to Sheffield Theatre to play Quince - she previously appeared in The Wizard of Oz. Her other theatre credits include Miss Littlewood, Vice Versa (RSC), Wind in the Willows the Musical (Plymouth, Lowry Salford and Mayflower, Southampton), Noises Off (Nottingham Playhouse, Northern Stage, Nuffield Southampton Theatres), The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe (Birmingham Rep), The Heresy of Love, As You Like It (Shakespeare's Globe), Much Ado About Nothing (Royal Exchange Manchester), The Color Purple (Menier Chocolate Factory), The Pyjama Game (Chichester Festival Theatre), Ragtime, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Regents Park Open Air Theatre), England People Very Nice (National Theatre) and Our House (Cambridge Theatre). For television, her work includes The Tempest.

Daniel Rigby returns to Sheffield Theatres to play Bottom - he previously played David Frost in Frost/Nixon. For theatre, his other work includes Twelfth Night (National Theatre), Breaking the Code (Manchester Royal Exchange), Holes (Arcola Theatre and Edinburgh Festival), One Man, Two Guvnors (National Theatre and Broadway) and Ninagawa's Hamlet (Barbican). His television work includes Flowers, Plebs, Gap Year, Sick Note, Jericho, Black Mirror, Big School, Cardinal Burns, Eric and Ernie (BAFTA Television Award for Best Actor) and The Street; and for film, Flyboys.

Samuel Townsend plays Flute. For theatre his work includes Harold And Maude (Charing Cross Theatre), 84 Charing Cross Road (Cambridge Arts Theatre / Salisbury Playhouse), The Importance of Being Earnest (MAC, Belfast) and As You Like It (Southwark Playhouse). For television his work includes The Royals and The Giblet Boys.

Robert Hastie's recent productions as Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres include The York Realist (co-production with The Donmar Warehouse), The Wizard of Oz, Of Kith and Kin (co-production with Bush Theatre) and Julius Caesar. Previous directing credits include Breaking the Code (Royal Exchange Manchester), Henry V (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Theatr Clwyd). As an Associate Director of The Donmar Warehouse, his work includes My Night with Reg by Kevin Elyot (Donmar Warehouse/West End - Best Newcomer nomination at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, and Best Revival nomination at the Olivier Awards) and Splendour by Abi Morgan. His other directing credits include Carthage and Events While Guarding The Bofors Gun (Finborough Theatre), Sunburst (Holborn Grange Hotel), Sixty-Six Books (Bush Theatre) and A Breakfast of Eels (Print Room).

Dan Gillespie Sells returns to Sheffield Theatres following the critically acclaimed musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie, for which he composed the music, which transferred to the West End in 2017. The production received three WhatsOnStage awards and two UK Theatre awards, including Best New Musical at both, and Gillespie Sells won Best Composer at The Stage Debut Awards. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and principal songwriter in The Feeling. Their debut album, Twelve Stops and Home sold over a million copies, whilst their second album, Join With Us reached the No. 1 spot in the UK Charts. The band's fifth album was released in March 2016. His other theatre credits include The Bad, The Sad, and The Broken Hearted (Soho Theatre and The Steve Allen Theatre Los Angeles - currently being developed as a series in America), 3WithD (London Coliseum and Stuttgart Ballet, a collaboration with Javier De Frutos and Ed Watson), and for television, the theme music to BBC's Beautiful People. Gillespie Sells was the recipient of the 2015 Stonewall Award for Entertainer of the Decade for his work in the LGBT community and the 2007 Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year.

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