Alan Cumming & Daniel Radcliffe to Star in Samuel Beckett Double Bill at London's Old Vic

Stage veterans Alan Cumming and Daniel Radcliffe will team up for a pair of plays by Samuel Beckett at London's Old Vic as part of the company's 2019-2020 season. The newly announced docket of productions will also include a mounting of Duncan Macmillan's Lungs starring The Crown's Claire Foy and Matt Smith.

Kicking off the new slate of works is A Very Expensive Poison, a world premiere play by Lucy Prebble (Enron) based on the book by Luke Harding. Directed by John Crowley, previews will begin on August 19, 2019 ahead of a September 5 opening night. The play is described as an exposé of the events behind the notorious death of Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.

Next up will be Macmillan's Lungs, headlined by Emmy winner Foy and Emmy nominee Smith in their Old Vic debuts. Matthew Warchus will direct the play, which follows a couple wrestling with the planet's biggest dilemmas. Dates for the production are to be announced.

Over the holiday season, The Old Vic will present a new immersive staging of A Christmas Carol adapted by Tony winner Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child). Warchus will direct the production, set to begin previews on November 23, 2019 and open on December 4.

The Beckett double bill—which will include Endgame (the follow-up to Waiting for Godot) and the rarely seen Rough for Theatre II—starring Cumming and Radcliffe, will be directed by Richard Jones. Previews will kick off on January 27, 2020 in advance of a February 4 opening night.

Closing out the mainstage season is the previously announced London debut of the musical Local Hero—based on the acclaimed film—featuring a book by Bill Forsyth and David Greig, music and lyrics by Mark Knopfler and direction by John Crowley. Previews will begin on June 18, 2020 ahead of a June 30 opening night.

For a look at the Old Vic's full season, click here.