The Rise and Fall of Little Voice - Sharp and Warren join cast
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
LESLEY Sharp and Marc Warren will join X Factor‘s Diana Vickers in the first major West End revival of Jim Cartwright’s multi award-winning play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, which opens for a limited season at the Vaudeville Theatre on October 20, 2009 (previews from October 8).
Described as a savage black comedy-drama, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice is about the diminutive and painfully shy Little Voice (LV), who lives alone in the north of England with her mother, Mari (Sharp).
Mari’s drunken, overbearing personality has driven LV (Vickers) into seclusion in her bedroom, where she listens to her late father’s records, perfecting faultless impersonations of stars such as Judy Garland and Dame Shirley Bassey.
When Mari’s latest boyfriend, small-time working men’s club impresario Ray Say (Warren), overhears LV singing, he puts in place a tragic sequence of events as he pushes her towards the stardom she doesn’t want and is literally terrified of.
About the play and casting, producer Nica Burns said: “With this wonderful play, you have to find your Little Voice first. To find someone of the right age – just 18 – who is as special as Diana Vickers is a gift. Having found our perfect Little Voice, I was delighted that the outstanding actress Lesley Sharp agreed to play her mother Mari and the charismatic actor Marc Warren, Ray Say. When Marc and Lesley first walked on stage together, the chemistry between them was instant. This is a terrific play and a great night out.”
Although Lesley Sharp‘s award-winning career encompasses theatre, television and film, she will be making her West End debut in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice. Her other theatre credits include leading roles at the Royal Court and National Theatre, where she appeared most recently in Harper Regan. Her numerous screen credits include Cranford, After Life, Bob and Rose (as Rose), Clocking Off (as Trudy) and three series of Playing the Field (TV); Vera Drake and Naked (both for Mike Leigh), Inkheart, The Full Monty and Rita, Sue and Bob Too (film).
Marc Warren, who won the Royal Television Society Best Actor Award in 2000, has enjoyed a distinguished 20-year career in television but is probably best known for his roles in Hustle (as Danny Blue), the comedy series Mutual Friends and Messiah (as DCI Walker). His other television work includes Dr Who, Life on Mars (Tony Crane), Ballet Shoes (Mr Simpson) and Terry Pratchett’s Hog Father (Jonathan Teatime) (TV).
He has also made a number of films, most recently Wanted with Angelina Jolie. And earlier this year, he appeared on stage in Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman (as Katurian).
The cast also includes Rachel Lumbert as Sadie and James Cartwright as Billy.
Produced by Nica Burns, Max Weitzenhoffer, TFP and Josephine Genetay, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice is design by Lez Brotherston, with musical supervision by Nigel Lilley, lighting by Mark Henderson and sound by Ian Dickinson.
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