Prick Up Your Ears - Gwen Taylor joins cast
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
BRITISH actress Gwen Taylor (as Mrs Corden) will join Matt Lucas and Chris New in Daniel Kramer’s production of Prick Up Your Ears, which runs at the Comedy Theatre from September 30 (previews from September 17) to December 6, 2009 – includes Sunday performances at 4pm.
Inspired exclusively by the John Lahr biography and the diaries of Joe Orton, Prick Up Your Ears examines the private lives of two extraordinary men – Kenneth Halliwell (Matt Lucas) and Joe Orton (Chris New).
Described as a darkly funny and moving play, Prick Up Your Ears imagines what really happened when, after years of creative collaboration, the door slammed shut and Kenneth was home alone, reduced to sharing Joe’s success with their neighbour, Mrs Corden, over tea and a slice of battenburg.
Prick Up Your Ears tells the sensational story behind the domestic life of Joe Orton and Kenneth Halliwell, holed up in a tiny flat in Islington, trading well-trodden insults and hilarious put-downs like any old married couple.
Gwen Taylor’s numerous theatre credits include the title role in Shirley Valentine, About Alice, Arms and the Man, Moment of Weakness and Picasso’s Women (all of which toured nationally); The Glass Menagerie (Derby Playhouse); Clouds, Ripen our Darkness and Top Girls (Royal Court Theatre); Trumpets and Raspberries (Phoenix Theatre); Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (West Yorkshire Playhouse); Time of My Life (Vaudeville Theatre); and Gertrude in Peter Hall’s Hamlet (Gielgud Theatre).
On television, she has played leading roles in Barbara, A Bit of a Do, Conjugal Rites, Duty Free, Class Act and most recently, the BBC Wales drama Belonging (as Margaret). She is currently playing Peg in ITV1’s Heartbeat. Her film credits include Monty Python’s Life of Brian and Richard’s Things.
Prior to the West End opening, Prick Up Your Ears will play at Richmond Theatre from August 26 to August 29; the Quays Theatre, The Lowry, Salford from August 31 to September 5; and the Theatre Royal Brighton from September 7 to September 12.
Read more about Prick Up Your Ears, the cast and the creative team