BAFTA-nominated Irish actor Robert Sheehan will play Withnail in Birmingham Rep’s adaptation of Bruce Robinson’s 1987 British tragi-comedy film Withnail and I.
Sheehan was Christy Mahon in J M Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World at the Old Vic in 2011, played Richard III in The Wars of the Roses at the Rose Theatre, Kingston in 2015 and took the role of Clov in Samuel Beckett’s Endgame at the Gate Theatre, Dublin in 2022.
Adonis Siddique will play Marwood in Withnail and I. He was Wythe Edwards in Simon Nye’s The Crown Jewels at London’s Garrick Theatre in 2023.
Malcolm Sinclair, who takes the role of Uncle Monty, is currently appearing as Charles at the National Theatre in Dear Octopus by Dodie Smith. His many other theatre credits include Peter Mattsson in Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People at Nottingham Playhouse in 2019 and Orlando in the Royal Shakespeare production of As You Like It in 2023.
Further casting will be announced later.
Birmingham Rep artistic director Sean Foley will direct Withnail and I. He said, “hilarious, tragic and wild, Withnail and I is a comedy like no other and I’m thrilled to be working with the legendary Bruce Robinson to bring it to life on stage.
“Our world première stage version brings to life the classic dialogue, the insane situations and above all the boozy, irresistibly hilarious relationship of one of the most famous slacker duos ever created.”
Designed by Alice Power and with casting by Ginny Schiller, Withnail and I will run at Birmingham Rep from Friday 3 until Saturday 25 May.