Northern Stage has announced the casting for its production of H G Wells’ The Invisible Man, adapted by Philip Correia from Northumberland, whose first play HYEM (yem, hjem, home), featuring creatives and performers making their professional debut, was performed at Theatre503 in London before transferring to Northern Stage.
Griffin is a frustrated young man from the North East, with a troubled past and violent thoughts inside his head. He claims he has discovered the power of invisibility but his ‘powers’ have led to him being placed into Government care. After all, a normal, ill-educated kid can’t just invent invisibility. If Dr Sara Kemp, a promising young therapist, can’t convince him to tell the truth, he threatens to embark upon a fatal ‘reign of terror’.
Northern Stage has cast four early career North East actors as part of its ongoing commitment to supporting and developing new talent in the region.
Daniel Watson will play Griffin, the young man with a troubled past who claims to have discovered the power of invisibility. His credits include feature film Give Them Wings (Magnificent Films), Isolation (Alphabetti Theatre & The Customs House), The Terminal Velocity Of Snowflakes (Live Theatre), Christmas Crackers (Live Theatre), and Byker Grove (CBBC, Zenith North).
Kate Louise Okello plays Kemp. Her recent credits include Breathing Space (Royal Court), Skellig (Nottingham Playhouse), feature film Stan & Ollie (BBC/Fable Pictures/Sonesta/eOne) and Home Front (BBC R4).
Jack Fairley (who plays multiple roles) appeared in UK and Middle Eastern tours of The Tempest (Young Shakespeare Company) in 2018 and an East African tour of Finding Uhuru in 2019.
Izzy Ions, who also plays multiple roles, trained at Newcastle College and is returning to Northern Stage after having been in the ensemble for The Snow Queen by Laura Lindow in 2019.
Director Anna Girvan was born and raised in Newcastle, trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and is a recipient of the Jerwood Assistant Director Award as well as an RSC Creative Fellow. Her directing credits include Twelfth Night (Southwark Playhouse) and Our Country’s Good (Tobacco Factory Theatres).
Also part of the creative team are set and costume designer Aileen Kelly (I Weigh for Mortal Fools/national tour), composer and sound designer Jeremy Bradfield (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Snow Queen and The Emperor's New Clothes for Northern Stage and numerous productions with Kitchen Zoo), and lighting designer Claire Gerrens who regularly works with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The Invisible Man runs in Stage 3 at Northern Stage from 1 to 19 February and then tours. Tickets start at £10; for more details or to book tickets go to the Northern Stage website or call 0191 230 5151. The show will also be available to watch online from 10-19 February as part of Northern Stage at Home.
After the Newcastle run, the production tours to:
- 24 February, The Phoenix Theatre, Blyth
- 26 February, The Maltings, Berwick
- 1 March, Gala Theatre, Durham
- 2 March, Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham
- 3 March, The Witham, Barnard Castle
- 12 March, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle
- 17-18 March, Hull Truck Theatre
- 19 March, The Exchange, North Shields