Three Days of Rain - McAvoy and Harman star
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
JAMES McAvoy and Nigel Harman will star in the first West End revival of Richard Greenberg’s 1997 play, Three Days of Rain, which opens at the Apollo Theatre on February 10, 2009 (previews from January 30). It will run for a limited season – until May 9, 2009.
The play, which explores how the private worlds of one generation are reinterpreted by the next, follows Walker Janeway and his sister Nan who reunite for the reading of their father’s will in the Manhattan loft where he lived. A wealthy architect, Ned’s legacy is an iconic house designed with his late business partner Theo.
Walker and Nan are joined by Theo’s son Pip and together they discover Ned’s diary containing the mysterious words ‘three days of rain’, words that eventually take them back a generation.
Jamie Lloyd, Associate Director of the Donmar Warehouse, whose Donmar production of Piaf has recently transferred to the West End’s Vaudeville Theatre, will direct a cast that also includes an as-yet unannounced actress who, like McAvoy and Harman, will play characters in both generations.
Although McAvoy is probably best known for his screen roles – in high profile films such as Atonement, The Last King Of Scotland, Wanted, Becoming Jane and Starter For Ten – he has appeared on stage in Breathing Corpses (Royal Court Theatre) and, alongside Harman in Privates On Parade (Donmar Warehouse).
Although Harman will always be remembered for his portrayal of EastEnders‘ Dennis Rickman, he has appeared on stage in the aforementioned Privates on Parade, The Exonerated (as Kerry Max Cooke), the West End production of Guy and Dolls (as Sky Masterson), The Caretaker (Tricycle Theatre) and, most recently, The Common Pursuit (Menier Chocolate Factory).
As well as Three Days of Rain, Greenberg’s other works include Take Me Out, The American Plan, The Author’s Voice and The Bloodletters.
Three Days of Rain received its UK premiere in 1999 at the Donmar Warehouse, where it was performed by Colin Firth, David Morrissey and Elizabeth McGovern. And in 2006, a Broadway revival starred Julia Roberts, Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper.
Rain Man continues at the Apollo Theatre until December 20, 2008.
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