Jessica Raine, Linda Bassett & More Set for Roots Revival at the Donmar Warehouse

English stage and screen actress Jessica Raine will lead James Macdonald’s revival of Arnold Wesker’s Roots at the Donmar Warhouse. The production runs October 3 through November 30, with an press opening on October 8.

In addition to Raine as Beatie Bryant, the production will co-star Linda Bassett as her mother Mrs. Bryant, David Burke as Stan Mann, Lisa Ellis as Jenny Beales, Ian Gelder as Mr. Bryant, Nick Jackman as Mr. Healey, Michael Jibson as Jimmy, Carl Prekopp as Frank Bryant and Emma Stansfield as Pearl.

The second piece in Wesker’s post-war trilogy, Roots takes place in 1958. Beatie Bryant (Raine) has been to London and fallen in love with Ronnie, a young socialist. As she anxiously awaits his arrival to meet her family at their Norfolk farm, her head is swimming with new ideas—ideas of a bolder, freer world that promise to clash with their rural way of life.

Raine is best known for her starring role on the BBC drama Call the Midwife, additional screen credits include The Woman in Black, Doctor Who and Garrow’s Law. Her stage credits include Harper Regan, Punk Rock, The Changeling, Rocket to the Moon and Earthquakes in London. Bassett’s vast screen credits include Calendar Girls, East is East, Kinky Boots, Sense and Sensibility, Nick Nickleby and The Reader. Burke is best known as Dr. Watson on TV’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Ellis appeared in the RSC and West End production of The Canterbury Tales. Gelder’s television credits include Game of Thrones and Torchwood. Jackman appeared in the BBC drama Silk. Jibson’s on screen in Les Miserables, Band of Brothers, Burton and Taylor and Hatfields & McCoys. Prekopp’s stage credits include Baal, Richard III and Calendar Girls. Stansfield appeared as Veronica Clayton on Coronation Street.

Roots will feature set and costume design by Hildegard Bechtler, lighting design by Guy Hoare, sound design by Ian Dickinson for Autograph and video design by Dick Straker.