Dumb Show - Sanjeev Bhaskar stars
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
SANJEEV Bhaskar will star in Stephen Unwin’s revival of Joe Penhall’s 2004 black comedy, Dumb Show, which runs at the Rose Theatre, Kingston from April 7 (previews from April 1) to April 17, 2010.
TV comedian and presenter Barry, aka ‘Mr Saturday Night’, has never quite been able to grasp the celebrity lifestyle he so desperately craves. So when two corporate bankers lure him with the promise of serious money and the perks of fame, he greedily takes the bait. However, celebrity comes at a price and Barry ends up paying much more than he bargained for…
Dumb Show is described as a dark, hilarious and gripping account of the celebrity-obsessed society we live in today and a vivid reminder of our voracious appetite for the classic tabloid sting.
Although best known as the host of The Kumars at No. 42 and for his appearances in the award-winning radio and television sketch show Goodness Gracious Me, Bhaskar has previously appreared on stage in Yasmina Reza’s Art (Whitehall Theatre) and as King Arthur in Monty Python’s Spamelot (Palace Theatre).
His other screen credits include Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee, Chopra Town, The Way It Is, Love Soup and Position Impossible (TV); Scoop, Anita and Me, The Guru, Mystic Masseur and Notting Hill (film).
The cast of Dumb Show will also include Dexter Fletcher (Hotel Babylon) and Emma Cunniffe (The Lakes).
Penhall’s other plays include Some Voices and Blue/Orange (National Theatre and West End), which won Evening Standard, Olivier and Critics’ Circle awards for Best Play. He also wrote the screenplay for the recent release The Road which stars Viggo Mortensen.
Unwin’s most recent work includes The Winslow Boy and Miss Julie.
This will be the first major London revival of Dumb Show since it premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 2004.