Adrian Lester’s co-stars have been announced for the forthcoming return of Red Velvet, which plays as part of the star-studded Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company season in February.
Charlotte Lucas and Simon Chandler, who join Hustle star Lester as the only fellow cast members to return to the critically acclaimed Tricycle Theatre production, will join Red Velvet newcomers including Emun Elliott, Caroline Martin and Amy Morgan at the Garrick Theatre from 23 January to 27 February.
While both actors appeared in Lolita Chakrabarti’s drama at the Tricycle and in New York, Lucas has also appeared on the London stage in productions including the Royal Court’s Posh and The Changeling at the Young Vic, with Chandler’s credits including Cause Célèbre at The Old Vic and the Tricycle’s The Bomb.
Elliott returns to the West End stage following the Olivier Award-winning Young Vic production A View From The Bridge, while Martin and Morgan have recently been seen at the National Theatre, appearing in Medea and The Beaux’ Stratagem respectively.
Completing the cast are Ayesha Antoine (A Wolf In Snakeskin Shoes, Tricycle), Alexander Cobb (The Magistrate, NT) and Mark Edel-Hunt (The American Plan, St James Theatre).
Red Velvet, which is directed by the Tricycle Theatre’s Artistic Director Indhu Rubasingham, follows the story of the young black actor Ira Aldridge (Lester) who steps in to play Othello after renowned actor Edmund Kean collapses on stage at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 1833.
The production originally premiered at the Tricycle Theatre in 2012, where it enjoyed two hugely successful runs before transferring to New York’s St Ann’s Warehouse in 2014.
The nine-strong cast will take on the acclaimed tale at the Garrick Theatre following the current runs of the first two productions in the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company’s season. Double bill Harlequinade / All On Her Own, which stars Zoë Wanamaker, ends on 13 January prior to the final performance of the Judi Dench-led The Winter’s Tale on 16 January.