Shuler Hensley to Lead THE WHALE, Full Cast Announced

Theatre Royal Bath today announces full casting for the UK premiere of Samuel D. Hunter's The Whale. The production will run at the Ustinov Studio from 26 April to 2 June*, with opening night for press on 3 May.

As previously announced award-winning Broadway actor Shuler Hensley will reprise the role of Charlie, which he originated when the play first opened in New York in 2012. He will be joined by Ruth Gemmell as Liz, Oscar Batterham as Elder Thomas, Rosie Sheehy as Ellie and Teresa Banham as Mary.

Directed by the Ustinov Studio's Artistic Director Laurence Boswell, the play is the huge-hearted and fiercely funny story of a father's final chance at salvation, and of finding hope and beauty in the most unexpected places. The play first opened in New York in 2012, where it won multiple awards including the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Play and Drama Desk Special Award for Significant Contribution to Theatre.

Charlie, a reclusive online writing instructor, lives marooned on a couch. Weighing in at six hundred pounds, he is slowly eating himself to death. But redemption may be within reach as he tries to reconnect with his estranged, sharp-tongued daughter as a conveyor belt of visitors - welcome and otherwise - move through his living room. Can any of them help him to see a future?

Shuler Hensley won both the Olivier Award and Tony Award for his role as Jud Fry in Oklahoma, starring alongside Hugh Jackman. His Broadway theatre credits include No Man's Land / Waiting for Godot (Cort Theatre), Young Frankenstein (Hilton Theatre), Tarzan (Richard Rodgers Theatre) and Les Miserables (Imperial Theatre). Most recently Shuler starred in the original West End production of Young Frankenstein (Garrick Theatre).

Ruth Gemmell's numerous television credits include Sarah Collingborne in Home Fires (ITV), Jen in Utopia (Channel 4) and Alice in The Fades (BBC). Theatre credits include Midsummer Mischief, King Lear and Macbeth (all for RSC), Coram Boy (National Theatre) and The Weir (Royal Court).

Oscar Batterham trained at Guildhall. Theatre credits include The Suppliant Woman (Young Vic and Tour), Skylight (Theatre Clwyd) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Theatre Royal Bath).

Rosie Sheehy trained at RADA. Theatre credits include Uncle Vanya (Theatre Clwyd / Sheffield Theatre), Escape the Scaffold (Theatre 503 / The Other Room) and Strife (Chichester Festival Theatre).

Teresa Banham recently starred in Ustinov Studio's The Open House. Her extensive theatre credits also include A Chorus of Disapproval (West End), Heresy of Love (RSC), Measure for Measure (RSC), The Father (Chichester Festival), Snake in the Grass (Old Vic). Television credits include Vera, Poirot: The Big Four and Silent Witness.

Laurence Boswell is an Olivier Award winner, Artistic Director of the Ustinov Studio and an Associate Artist of the RSC. His recent productions include The Mentor, A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Theatre Royal's Main House, and Trouble in Mind, The Mother, Intimate Apparel and The Spanish Golden Age Season in the Ustinov Studio.

Samuel D. Hunter's playwriting credits include A Bright New Boise (Obie Award, Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), The Few, A Great Wilderness, Rest, Pocatello, Lewiston, Clarkston, and most recently, The Healing and The Harvest.

Photo: Shuler Hensley in the 2012 New York premiere of The Whale at Playwrights Horizons. Photo by Joan Marcus

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