That Face - casting complete
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
HANNAH Murray will join Lindsay Duncan, Matt Smith, Julian Wadham and Catherine Steadman in the West End transfer of Polly Stenham’s award-winning play, That Face, which opens at the Duke of York’s Theatre on May 9, 2008 (previews from may 1).
Murray, best known for her role as Cassie in Channel 4’s comedy drama Skins, is making her professional stage debut as Mia. Her film credits include Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges.
That Face is booking until July 5, 2008.
Previously Posted: Lindsay Duncan will reprise the role of Martha in Polly Stenham’s award-winning play, That Face, which transfers to the West End – to the Duke of York’s Theatre – for a limited ten-week season from May 9, 2008 (previews from May 1).
Mia is at boarding school. She has access to drugs. They are Martha’s. Henry is preparing for art college. He has access to alcohol. From Martha. Martha controls their lives. Martha is their mother.
That Face is described as a powerful and darkly comic exploration of children who become parents to their parents. The cast also includes Matt Smith, reprising the role of Henry; Julian Wadham (as Hugh) and Catherine Steadman (as Izzy). Jeremy Herrin directs.
That Face received its world premiere at the Royal Court (Jerwood Theatre Upstairs) in April 2007. Stenham has since received the Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle Awards for Most Promising Playwright, as well as the TMA Award for Best Play. The cast has also been Olivier nominated for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre.
Duncan has previously won two Olivier Awards for Best Actress – for her performances in the RSC’s original production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses and the 2001 West End revival of Private Lives. Her other theatre credits include Mouth to Mouth, Ashes to Ashes and Top Girls (all at the Royal Court).
Her screen credits include Rome, Longford, Spooks, Oliver Twist and Just William (TV); Mansfield Park, Starter For Ten, An Ideal Husband, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Prick Up Your Ears (film).
Smith, who was nominated for the Evening Standard Most Promising Newcomer Award for That Face, has also appeared on stage in the West End production of Swimming with Sharks (Vaudeville Theatre); The History Boys, Burn, Chatroom, Citizenship (National Theatre); On the Shore of the Wide World (Royal Exchange Theatre) and Fresh Kills (Royal Court).
Wadham is currently appearing as Don Pedro in the National Theatre’s production of Much Ado About Nothing which stars Zoe Wanamaker and Simon Russell Beale. His other theatre credits include Our Country’s Good, Serious Money (Royal Court); Plenty (for the Almeida at the Albery); and the Olivier award-winning Another Country and When We Are Married (West End).
Steadman’s theatre credits include Babooshka (Pleasance Theatre), The Glory of Living (BAC) and The Rubenstein Kiss (Oxford Playhouse). On screen, she has appeared in Hippie Hippie Shake, Borderline Confusion and Dark Room (film); Mansfield Park and The Bill (TV).
That Face is Stenham’s first play, written when she was just 19. Now, with a substantial grant from the UK Film Council, she is working on a screen adaptation.
That Face is designed by Mike Britton, with lighting by Natasha Chivers and sound by Emma Laxton. It is produced in the West End by Sonia Friedman Productions, Tulchin/Bartner and Jamie Hendry.
NB: As a joint pricing initiative with the Royal Court, 100 best seats will be available for every performance at £25 – bookable in advance. That Face is booking until July 5, 2008.
The Magic Flute (Impempe Yomlingo) is currently playing at the Duke of York’s Theatre.
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