Star cast brings Parlour Song to Greenwich

One of the major stages in the creation of a new show, and sometimes one of the hardest, is casting. Finding the right actors to play the various roles in a show is crucial.

Obviously actors are trained to play other people – that goes without saying – but we all know that different actors carry different qualities into a performance – and we also all know what it’s like to see a character we know and love inhabited by someone we don’t think is right.

That said, what makes a character ‘right’ can also be very subjective – when the latest Doctor Who or Bond actor is announced there is always a public disagreement about how suitable they may or may not be for the role – so when announcing the cast of a new play, and particularly a revival, I’m always intrigued to see what people will make of it.

This week we announce the cast of our new production of Parlour Song, a darkly comic suburban satire by Jez Butterworth. Continuing our relationship with Jez after last year’s production of The River, Parlour Song premiered at the Almeida Theatre in 2009, and ours is the first major London revival since.

Set in leafy suburbia, the play follows the story of demolition expert Ned and his seemingly perfect life in the English countryside. Outwardly his life is entirely unremarkable, but things slowly start to unravel from half a year of no sleep, to missing objects, and Ned’s irrational fear of his attractive wife Joy.

One of the things that Jez Butterworth is so good at is exploring the cracks in people’s minds, without feeling the need to solve any conundrum he unearths. Ambiguity lay at the heart of The River, and that is repeated here with Ned’s insomnia-fuelled fears.

For our production I am delighted that Naveed Khan (from Death on the Nile and Humans) will take on the role of Ned, with Kellie Shirley (In The Long Run, Casualty, Eastenders) as the woman who has tolerated years of marriage to him while dreaming of escape.