TRH Productions will present Natalie Dormer and David Oakes in the West End premiere of David Ives’ hit Broadway play Venus in Fur this autumn for a strictly limited nine week engagement at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. This critically-acclaimed two-hander will run from 6 October to 9 December with opening night for press on 17 October.
Enigmatic actress Vanda Jordan appears unannounced for an audition with director Thomas Novachek. She’s determined to land the leading role in his new production – despite seeming wrong for the part. Over one evening in downtown Manhattan their charged meeting becomes a seductive dance to the end.
Directed by Patrick Marber, designed by Rob Howell with lighting by Hugh Vanstone and casting by Executive Producer Ilene Starger, Venus In Fur is an intoxicating dark comedy of desire, fantasy and the innate love of fur.
Natalie Dormer is to play Vanda Jordan. Dormer is known globally for film and television roles including Margaery Tyrell in HBO series Game of Thrones, Anne Boleyn in The Tudors for Showtime, Cressida in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2, Focus Features’ The Forest, Ron Howard’s Rush, and Ridley Scott’s The Counselor. Upcoming, Dormer stars opposite Sean Penn and Mel Gibson in The Professor and the Mad Man, and the independent thriller In Darkness, which she also co-wrote She is currently in production on FremantleMedia’s Picnic at Hanging Rock in Australia. Venus in Fur sees Dormer reunite with Patrick Marber, who wrote After Miss Julie (Young Vic) for which she received widespread critical acclaim in the title role. Her other stage credits include Sweet Nothings (also at the Young Vic) and .45 (Hampstead Theatre).
David Oakes is to play Thomas Novachek. Oakes is best known for portraying Juan Borgia in the Emmy Award-winning Showtime Original series The Borgias, for playing William Hamleigh in Emmy Award-winning mini-series The Pillars of the Earth, for BBC’s The White Queen in the role of George, Duke of Clarence and, most recently, on screen as Prince Ernest in ITV’s Victoria, for which he is currently filming the second series. Stage credits include Kit Marlowe in Shakespeare In Love (Nöel Coward Theatre) and Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre). Oakes will also appear in the film adaptation of Albert Sánchez Piñol’s thriller Cold Skin set for release later this year.
Patrick Marber is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, actor and director. His productions of his own work includes Dealer’s Choice (NT & Vaudeville), After Miss Julie (BBC TV), Closer (NT, Lyric & Music Box NY) Howard Katz (NT), Three Days in the Country (NT) Don Juan in Soho (Wyndhams). His other directing credits include Travesties (Menier Chocolate Factory/ Apollo Theatre) The Caretaker (Comedy Theatre), Blue Remembered Hills (National Theatre), ‘1953’ (Almeida) and The Old Neighborhood (Royal Court Theatre). Other plays include The Red Lion, The Musicians, The School Film (all for NT) and Hoop Lane (BBC Radio 3). His film credits include Closer (directed by Mike Nichols), Notes on a Scandal (directed by Richard Eyre), Old Street and Love You More. For television his co-writing credits include The Day Today and Knowing Me, Knowing You With Alan Partridge. More recently Ivo van Hove directed Marber’s version of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler for the National Theatre starring Ruth Wilson. His plays have won Evening Standard, Olivier, Time Out, New York and London Critics’ Circle and Writers’ Guild Awards. His TV work has received BAFTA, British Comedy and Royal Television Society Awards. His screenplays have been nominated for Golden Globe, BAFTA and Academy Awards. He received the British Independent Film Award for Notes on a Scandal.
David Ives was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play for Venus In Fur, which has been produced all over the country and the world, and was turned into a film by Roman Polanski He is also well known for his evenings of one-act comedies All In The Timing and Time Flies. Other plays include New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza; The Liar (adapted from Corneille); The School For Lies (adapted from Molière); The Metromaniacs (adapted from Alexis Piron); Is He Dead? (adapted from Mark Twain); Ancient History, and Polish Joke. A Chicago native, he lives in New York City.
Rob Howell has worked extensively in costume and set design in theatre and opera within the UK and abroad including at the Royal Court, Almeida, Donmar Warehouse, National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Welsh National Opera, Royal Opera House and Metropolitan Opera, New York as well as at numerous other West End and Broadway Theatres. Recent credits include The Ferryman (Royal Court) and Groundhog Day (UK and Broadway). He has received three Olivier Awards and multiple nominations for Tony and Olivier Awards for both Set and Costume Design, including the Olivier Award for Best Set Designer for Troilus and Cressida, Vassa and Richard III in 2000 and for Hedda Gabler in 2006. He received an Olivier Award in 2012 and a Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Tony Award in 2013 and for his designs for Matilda the Musical in New York and London.
Hugh Vanstone has designed the lighting for over 200 productions and worked extensively with UK national companies and on Broadway. He has received many awards including three Oliviers, a Tony and a Molière. As associate artist at The Old Vic, he has recently lit Art, No’s Knife, Groundhog Day (UK and Broadway), The Caretaker, The Master Builder and Future Conditional. Other work includes: Dreamgirls (Savoy), Welcome Home, Captain Fox and Closer (Donmar); The Red Lion (National Theatre, Dorfman); Closer (Donmar and in New York); An Act Of God (New York & tour); Matilda (RSC and internationally); Strictly Ballroom (Australian tour); Don Quixote (Royal Ballet); Tanz Der Vampire (throughout Europe & Russia); Shrek The Musical (New York, West End & UK tour); Ghost (London and internationally).
Ilene Starger is a Casting Director and Producer. West End theatre credits include The Libertine (as Casting Director/Executive Producer for TRB and TRH); Breakfast at Tiffany’s (as U.S. Casting Director for 2009 TRH production; also for 2016 UK tour.) Broadway credits include Waiting for Godot, No Man’s Land, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Casting Director & Associate Producer), Marlene, The Elephant Man, Dance of Death, The Diary of Anne Frank, Dirty Blonde, Closer (Artios Award.) Film credits include Custody (also Associate Producer), The Rewrite, Pink Panther 1 & 2, Music and Lyrics, Two Weeks’ Notice, Night at the Museum (Artios Award), School of Rock (Artios Award), Sleepy Hollow, A Simple Plan, The Parent Trap, First Wives’ Club, Marvin’s Room, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, No Way Out. TV credits include: Witness to the Mob, The Great Gatsby, Earthly Possessions. Starger is a former VP of Casting for Walt Disney and Touchstone Pictures.
An adaptation of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s 1870 novel Venus in Furs that inspired the term masochism, Venus in Fur was first performed off-Broadway, New York in 2010 with Nina Arianda and Wes Bentley, before transferring to the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway with Nina Arianda reprising the role of Vanda Jordan alongside Hugh Dancy as Thomas Novachek. Both productions were directed by Walter Bobbie and won Arianda multiple awards including the 2011/12 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play. In 2012, Roman Polanski directed a film version of the play, in French, starring Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathieu Amalric.
Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm Thursday and Saturday at 3pm
Tickets from £15
FINAL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR PATRICK MARBER’S
DON JUAN IN SOHO
STRICTLY LIMITED ELEVEN WEEK RUN
Joining the previously announced David Tennant who plays the title role, Adrian Scarborough as Stan and Gawn Grainger as Louis are Theo Barklem-Biggs (Pete), Mark Ebulué (Aloysius), Mark Extance (ensemble), David Jonsson (Col), Dominique Moore (Lottie), Emma Naomi (ensemble), Alice Orr-Ewing (Mattie and Ruby), Himesh Patel (Vagabond), Adrian Richards (ensemble), William Spray (ensemble), Danielle Vitalis (Elvira) and Eleanor Wyld (Dalia) who complete the cast for Patrick Marber’s Don Juan in Soho.
“Please don’t be charmed, he’s not a lovable rogue…” Loosely based on Molière’s tragicomedy ‘Don Juan’, this savagely funny and filthy modern update transports the action to contemporary London and follows the final adventures of its debauched protagonist – a cruel seducer who lives only for pleasure.
Rehearsals begin next week for the production which previews at Wyndham’s Theatre from 17 March 2017, with press night on 28 March 2017. Don Juan in Soho will complete its strictly limited eleven week run on 10 June 2017.
Direction is by Patrick Marber with set and costume designs by Anna Fleischle, lighting by Mark Henderson, compositions and sound by Adam Cork, video design by Dick Straker, movement by Polly Bennett and casting by Robert Sterne CDG.
David Tennant (DJ) has worked extensively in theatre, television and film winning numerous awards for his work including the Critics’ Circle Award for Best Shakespearean Performance and the National Television Award for Outstanding Drama Performance. For the Royal Shakespeare Company his credits include Richard II, a role he reprised last year at the Barbican and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, As You Like It, The Herbal Bed, The Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love’s Labour’s Lost and the title role in Hamlet, as well as co-hosting the live broadcast of Shakespeare 400. Tennant was last in the West End playing Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. His film credits include What We Did On Our Holiday, The Decoy Bride, Fright Night, Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger!, St Trinian’s II: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Bright Young Things, LA Without a Map and the forthcoming Mad To Be Normal, Fish Without Bicycles and Bad Samaritan. On television he is best known for playing the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC’s classic series Doctor Who. He is soon to appear in the third season of ITV’s award winning series Broadchurch and starred in the US version, Gracepoint. His other television credits include playing Kilgrave in Netflix’s Jessica Jones, and The Escape Artist, The Politician’s Husband, Spies of Warsaw and Casanova, all for the BBC.
Adrian Scarborough (Stan) was last on stage as The Fool in Sam Mendes’ production of King Lear at the National Theatre where his many credits also include After the Dance, The Habit of Art, Time and the Conways, Henry IV Parts 1 & 2, The False Servant, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, The David Hare Trilogy, The Day I Stood Still and The Wind in the Willows. In the West End his credits include Betty Blue Eyes and Humble Boy. He has also been seen in Hedda Gabler at The Old Vic, Platonov and Vassa for the Almeida Theatre Company and Accidental Death of an Anarchist and To The Green Fields Beyond for the Donmar. His film credits include On Chesil Beach, Les Misérables,The King’s Speech, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Notes on a Scandal, Vera Drake, Gosford Park, The History Boys, Bright Young Things, The Madness of King George and Dirty Pretty Things. Scarborough’s many television credits include two seasons of the US series Blunt Talk opposite Patrick Stewart, Stella, Crashing, Miranda, Up The Women,Professor Branestawm, Plebs, Edge of Heaven,Death in Paradise, The Paradise, Restless, Doctor Who, Mrs Biggs, Upstairs Downstairs, Gavin and Stacey, Cranford and Psychoville.
Gawn Grainger (Louis) was most recently on stage in The Entertainer for the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company at the Garrick Theatre. His other theatre credits include The Cherry Orchard at the Young Vic, Macbeth at Shakespeare’s Globe and The Recruiting Officer at the Donmar as well as Onassis, Absolutely Perhaps and The Crucible all in the West End. For the National Theatre where he was part of Olivier’s South Bank inaugural season, his credits include Three Days in the Country,A Woman Killed With Kindness, Some Trace Of Her, Sing Yer Heart Out For The Lads, The Passion, The Seagull and The Misanthrope and at the Almeida he has been seen in No Man’s Land, Party Time, Mountain Language and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. His film credits include Blood Royal, A Christmas Carol and The Little Drummer Girl and on television Labyrinth, The Nativity, BigDeal, The Black Tower, Dalziel and Pascoe, The Darling Buds of May, Foyle’sWar, GentlemenandPlayers, Hail, Caesar!, Heart of theCountry, A HelpingHand, HettyWainthroppInvestigates, Macbeth, Man at the Top, MenBehavingBadly and MidsomerMurders.
Theo Barklem-Biggs’ (Pete) theatre credits include Les Liaisons Dangereuses for the Donmar and Chapel Street for the Bush theatre. His film credits include Journey’s End, The Greatest Man, Kingsman: The Secret Service, The Inbetweeners Movie and the forthcoming Hunter Killer. His many television credits include Wasteman,Ballot Monkeys, Cradle to Grave, Tatau, Homeboys and Miranda.
Mark Ebulué’s (Aloysius) theatre credits include Macbeth for the Young Vic, Julius Caesar for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Phaedra’s Love for the Arcola and touring productions of Hamlet for Tara Arts and Othello for Frantic Assembly. His film credits include Kingsland,Dark Ascension and Way of the Monkey’s Claw. On television his credits include Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, Doctor Who and Julius Caesar.
Mark Extance’s (ensemble) recent theatre credits include Correspondence at the Old Red Lion, Three Days in the Country, Scenes from an Execution, Travelling Light and London Assurance for the National Theatre, Pygmalion at The Old Vic and Yes, Prime Minister in the West End and on tour.
David Jonsson’s (Col) theatre credits include Mary Stuart for the Almeida Theatre, Pigeon English at Bristol Old Vic and the Edinburgh Fringe, Romeo and Juliet at the Riverside Studios and Ghosts for the Rose Theatre Bankside.
Dominique Moore (Lottie) is best known for playing Chanel O’Grady in Footballers Wives: Extra Time. Her other television credits include Murder in Successville, Quacks, Horrible Histories, Red Dwarf and PhoneShop. Her theatre credits include Gutted for Theatre Royal Stratford East, Aladdin for the Lyric Hammersmith and The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre. Her film credits include First and The Physician.
Emma Naomi’s (ensemble) theatre credits include Deathwatch for the Print Room at The Coronet, The Crucible for Bristol Old Vic and This Man Right Here for the Hen and Chickens. On film she has been seen in House Girl.
Alice Orr-Ewing’s (Mattie and Ruby) theatre credits include An Enemy of the People for Chichester Festival Theatre and Hay Fever at Theatre Royal Bath and Duke of York’s Theatre. Her film credits include The Theory of Everything, Mr Turner, The Scapegoat and Atonement and on television she has been seen in Victoria, Oakfield, Pramface and Blandings.
Himesh Patel (Vagabond) played the role of Tamwar Masood in EastEnders for nine years. He was last on stage in Le Bossu at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Adrian Richards’ (ensemble) theatre credits include Wild Honey for Hampstead Theatre, The Suicide for the National Theatre and Advice for the Young at Heart for Theatre Centre. He has also performed in Die Entführung aus dem Serail at Glyndebourne.
William Spray’s (ensemble) theatre credits include Hamlet, Twelfth Night and But a Dream for Sovereign Arts and Punk Rock for Pocketful Shows. His opera credits include The Indian Queen for English National Opera and Dido and Aeneas for Silent Opera. On film he has been seen in A Little Chaos.
Danielle Vitalis’ (Elvira) stage credits include Girls Like That for Synergy and Primetime at the Royal Court. Her film credits include Afro Punk Girl and Honeytrap and on television she has been seen in Youngers and The Riots: In Their Own Words.
Eleanor Wyld (Dalia) was last on stage in The Alchemist at the Royal Shakespeare Company where her credits also include Don Quixote and Doctor Faustus. Her film credits include Johnny English Reborn and Freestyle and on television her credits include Thirteen, Father Brown and Misfits.
Patrick Marber’s plays include Dealer’s Choice, After Miss Julie, Closer, Howard Katz, Three Days in the Country and The Red Lion. His film credits include Closer (directed by Mike Nichols), Notes on a Scandal (directed by Richard Eyre), Old Street and Love You More. For television his co-writing credits include The Day Today and Knowing Me, Knowing You With Alan Partridge. In December last year Ivo van Hove directed Marber’s new version of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler for the National Theatre starring Ruth Wilson and Rafe Spall. As well as directing a number of his own plays, his other directing credits include Travesties by Tom Stoppard at the Menier Chocolate Factory, which transfers to the Apollo Theatre this month, The Caretaker at the Comedy Theatre, Blue Remembered Hills at the National Theatre, ‘1953’ by Craig Raine at the Almeida and The Old Neighbourhood by David Mamet at the Royal Court Theatre. His plays have won Evening Standard, Olivier, Time Out, New York and London Critics’ Circle and Writers’ Guild Awards. His TV work has received BAFTA, British Comedy and Royal Television Society Awards. His screenplays have been nominated for Golden Globe, BAFTA and Academy Awards. He received the British Independent Film Award for Notes on a Scandal.
