Ed Stoppard to Play Tom in London Glass Menagerie, with Jessica Lange

Casting is now complete for the new London production of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, directed by Rupert Goold. Ed Stoppard, Amanda Hale and Mark Umbers will join the previously announced Jessica Lange in the revival at the Apollo Theatre, which begins previews on January 31 and opens on February 13.

The Glass Menagerie tells the story of a St. Louis family struggling to cope with the harsh realities of the Great Depression and the bitter memories that haunt them. Revealed in flashback, the play follows the lives of factory worker Tom Wingfield Stoppard, torn between his role as the family breadwinner and the desire to lead a life of his own, his abrasive mother Amanda Lange, once a grand Southern socialite now trying to maintain her dignity amidst the gloom of the tenement, and Tom's frail sister, Laura Hale, who has retreated to an imaginary world caring for her collection of glass animals. As tensions mount and tempers flare, the prospect of a husband for Laura becomes their final chance for stability and escape. But the arrival of this gentleman caller Umbers could also deal a powerful blow that shatters their tenuous dreams.

Stoppard son of playwright Tom Stoppard starred in the title role of English Touring Theatre's production of Hamlet, which then came to London's New Ambassadors Theatre. He made his West End debut in the London premiere of Wit at the Vaudeville in 2000. Hale was recently seen in Crooked and appeared in the TV show Persuasion. Umbers played Freddy Eynsford-Hill in the National's 2001 production of My Fair Lady, which subsequently transferred to the West End. He has just finished filming Woody Allen's new film Cassandra's Dream in a cast that also includes Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor.