William Gaminara and Damien Molony will play the two central characters in Dan O’Brien’s award-winning drama The Body of an American, which is to have its European première in Northampton.
The work is set in Mogadishu in 1993 when Canadian photojournalist Paul is about to take a picture that will win him the Pulitzer Prize and in Princeton in 2007 when writer Dan is struggling to finish a play about ghosts.
Both men live worlds apart but a chance encounter over the airwaves sparks an extraordinary friendship that leads them on a journey from some of the most dangerous places on earth to the depths of the human soul.
Flying from Kabul to the Canadian High Arctic, The Body of An American “sees two actors jump between more than 30 roles in an exhilarating new form of documentary drama. It urgently places these two men’s battles—both public and private—against a backdrop of some of the world’s most iconic images of war”.
The part of Paul will be played William Gaminara, known for his role as Professor Leo Dalton in 11 series of BBC One’s Silent Witness. His theatre credits include The Children’s Hour at the National Theatre.
Taking the role of Dan is Damien Molony who plays Detective Constable Albert Flight in BBC One’s Ripper Street. His theatre work includes playing Motl Mendl in Nicholas Wright’s Travelling Light at the National Theatre in 2012.
Directed by Royal and Derngate’s artistic director James Dacre, The Body of an American is a co-production with the Gate Theatre, London and will be performed in the Underground Studio from Thursday (27 February) until Saturday 8 March.