Hugh Dancy and Bright Star's Ben Whishaw Headed Off-Broadway in The Pride

Two hot young British actors, Hugh Dancy and Ben Whishaw, will star with Andrea Riseborough in MCC Theatre’s forthcoming off-Broadway production of Alexi Kaye Campbell’s The Pride. The play will begin performances on January 27, 2010, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, directed by Joe Mantello. Opening night has been set for February 16, with the limited engagement to continue through March 20.

Winner of an Olivier Award for its 2008 premiere at the Royal Court Theatre, The Pride centers on Oliver, Philip and Sylvia, a trio caught in a kind of erotic time warp. Their complex love triangle, replete with conflicting loyalties and passions, jumps from 1958 to the present and back in a maelstrom of fantasy, repression and rebellion. This innovative drama is described an alternately tough and touching look at love and betrayal. A fourth role has yet to be cast.

Dancy began his career on the London stage and made his Broadway debut in the 2007 revival of Journey’s End. His many film credits include Adam, Confessions of a Shopaholic, The Jane Austen Book Club, Evening, Ella Enchanted and Black Hawk Down. He received an Emmy nomination for playing the Earl of Essex opposite Helen Mirren in the miniseries Elizabeth I.

Whishaw is currently starring as John Keats in the acclaimed feature film Bright Star. He starred as Sebastian Flyte in the 2008 movie version of Brideshead Revisited and has appeared onscreen in I’m Not There and The International. On the stage, he received raves for playing the title role in a 2004 Hamlet at the Old Vic. Before coming to New York for The Pride, Whishaw is set to open in Mike Bartlett’s play Cock at the Royal Court Upstairs in November.

Riseborough received the Ian Charleson Award for her performances as Isabella in Measure for Measure and the title role in Miss Julie. London stage credits include The Pain and the Itch and Ivanov. Riseborough was nominated for a BAFTA TV award for playing the title role in Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley and has appeared in feature films such as Happy Go Lucky.