Casting Complete for My Fair Lady, Starring Dominic West; Full Sheffield Theatre Company Season Also Announced
Artistic director Daniel Evans has announced the Sheffield Theatre Company’s complete 2013 season. In addition to the previously announced My Fair Lady revival (starring Dominic West and Carly Bawden) and The Full Monty stage play, the season will include the Olivier and Tony-winning drama The History Boys, a revival of The Daughter-in-Law, a new play by Mike Bartlett, a new musical by Tim Firth and a series of shorts about Sheffield.
The Lerner and Loewe classic My Fair Lady will play the Crucible Theatre December 12 through January 26, 2013. In addition to West and Bawden, the cast will feature newly announced co-stars Chris Bennett (Harry), Richenda Carey (Mrs. Higgins), Anthony Calf (Colonel Pickering), Martyn Ellis (Alfred Doolittle), Joanna Lee Martin (Mrs. Hopkins), Louis Maskell (Freddy Eynsford-Hill), Laura Medforth (Mrs. Eynsford-Hill), Carl Sanderson (Jamie) and Nicola Sloane (Mrs. Pearce). The My Fair Lady ensemble will include Carly Anderson, Nick Butcher, Matthew Clark, John Coates, Adam Dutton, Emily Goodenough, Victoria Hinde, Adam Jones, Matthew Malthouse, Stephen Whitson and Anna Woodside.
Bull, the new work by Chariots of Fire and Cock playwright Mike Bartlett, will receive its world premiere at the Studio Theatre, running February 6 through 23. Opening night is set for February 11. Directed by Clare Lizzimore, the play about office politics centers around three candidates vying for two potential jobs. Bull will feature set and costume design by Soutra Gilmour, lighting design by Peter Mumford and sound design by Christopher Shutt. No casting has been announced.
D.H. Lawrence’s The Daughter-in-Law will be revived at the Crucible Theatre February 27 through March 23, with an official opening on March 4. Directed by Paul Miller, the play is set in a Derbyshire mining town in 1912 as strike action looms. At home, the Gascoignes’ short honeymoon is well and truly over. Ambitious Minnie is still trying to disentangle miner Luther from his mother’s apron strings when a pre-marital dalliance makes a reappearance and blows the marriage apart.
The Daughter-in-Law will star Lynda Baron as Mrs. Gascoigne and Claire Price as Minnie. The role of Luther has yet to be announced. The play will feature set and costume design by Simon Daw, lighting design by Mark Doubleday and sound design by Terry Davies.
Next up in the Sheffield season is 20 Tiny Plays About Sheffield, directed by Andrew Loretto. Presented by the Sheffield People’s Theatre at the Studio Theatre, the series of short five-minute plays will run April 8 through April 13, opening on April 9. Written by 20 authors, the shorts offer a glimpse into the diverse community of Sheffield. 20 Tiny Plays About Sheffield will feature set and costume design by Tom Rogers, lighting design by Gary Longfield, sound design by Nick Greenhill, musical direction by Moony Wainwright and movement by Lucy Cullingford.
Michael Longhurst will direct Alan Bennett’s The History Boys at the Crucible Theatre May 16 through June 8. Opening night is scheduled for May 22. Back in lessons to train for entrance exams, a group of school boys find themselves caught between two opposing styles of teaching. Eccentric Hector leads with a flamboyance that brings everything to life, while cynical Irwin’s been brought in by the Head to provide a ruthless route to Oxbridge. But with love, sex and university on their minds, the question is, will any of them make the grade? The History Boys will feature sets and costumes by Chloe Lamford and lighting design by Neil Austin. No casting has been announced.
The 2013 season will come to a finish with This Is My Family, a new musical by Tim Firth. Directed by Evans, the show will star Bill Champion (Steve), Janie Dee (Yvonne), Evelyn Hoskins (Nicky), Terence Keeley (Matt), Rachel Lumberg (Sian) and Sian Phillips (May). This Is My Family will play the Studio Theatre June 19 through July 20, opening on June 24. The musical will feature set and costume design by Richard Kent, lighting design by David Plater and sound design by Nick Greenhill. In This Is My Family, a thirteen-year-old wins a family vacation through a magazine competition. The only problem is the entire submission was based on lies and the “tight-knit” family is really on the verge of collapse.