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Dateline: 10th January, 2006
The Royal Sjhakespeare Company has announced casting for its proeudcution of Thomas Middleton's Women Beware Women, which runs at the Swan, Stratford, from 23rd February (previews from 16th) to 1st April. Penelope Wilton plays the scheming widow Livia. She recently appeared in the National Theatre’s production of Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba. Her last appearance at the RSC was as Madame Arkadina in Adrian Noble’s production of The Seagull (Swan/Barbican 2000). She will be very familiar to television audiences in shows such as Ever Decreasing Circles, and from the new series of Dr Who, in which she plays the Prime Minister.
Tim Pigott-Smith plays the Duke of Florence. He is an Associate Artist and a board member of the RSC. His recent stage work includes Jonathan Kent’s Hecuba for the Donmar Warehouse, Mourning Becomes Electra for the National Theatre and Ed Hall’s production of Julius Caesar for the RSC in 2001. His recent TV appearances include North and South, The Vice and Kavanagh QC. His films include Oliver Stone’s Alexander, Bloody Sunday and The Remains of the Day.
Hayley Atwell makes her RSC debut as Bianca. She will soon appear in Andrew Davies’ adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst’s Man Booker Award winning novel, The Line of Beauty for the BBC.
Emma Cunniffe also makes her RSC debut. Emma, who plays Isabella in the production, is a well known face to TV viewers. She played Emma Quinlan in The Lakes (both series 1 and 2), Biddy in the BBC TV adaptation of Great Expectations, Sharon in The Innocents for Channel 4, Love Or Money, Flesh and Blood and Cherished for the BBC.
Laurence Boswell directs this production. His last production in the Swan Theatre was The Dog in the Manger as part of his Spanish Golden Age season of plays in the 2004 Festival Season which transferred to the Playhouse Theatre in London. His RSC production of Hecuba played in the West End and toured to the US in Spring 2005.
He says of the production, “The play deals with a society morally and ethically lost in a sea of consumerism, deceit, lust and envy. It is led by a man totally absorbed in the satisfaction of his own desires. It therefore has a lot to say about life in today’s Britain! We see four young people initiated into the rotten world of their fathers, who collaborate in their own spiritual destruction. It is hilarious, tragic and savagely ironic all in the same moment, and I think it has a sensibility that will make sense to today’s audiences.”
The cast also includes: Jonathan Bex (Lord), Elliot Cowan (Leantio), Julian Curry (Fabritio), Trevor Allan Davies, Rob Edwards (Hippolito), Peter Guinness (Guardiano), Morgan James, Bruce Mackinnon (The Ward), Leon Ockenden (Messenger), Paul Rider (Sordido), Michael Thomas (Lord Cardinal), Mary Chater (Hymen), Susan Engel (Widow), Gesella Ohaka (Hebe) and Claudia Renton (Ganymede). Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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