Amanda Hale and Stanley Townsend will make their Royal Court returns in the UK premiere of a dark tale about an unsettling brand of entertainment.
Jennifer Haley’s The Nether, a co-production between the Royal Court and Headlong that begins its run at the Sloane Square venue in July, will also star Royal Court returnees David Beames and Ivanno Jeremiah alongside Zoe Brough and Isabella Pappas, who both make their professional stage debuts in the production.
The play, which because of its content and language has been deemed suitable only for theatregoers aged 18 and older, is set in the near future where the online world of The Nether gives you the chance to fulfil your every fantasy. When a young detective makes a disturbing discovery it triggers an investigation into the darkest corners of imagination.
Though the four experienced actors have all appeared at the Royal Court before, none of them starred in the same production. Townsend, a recognisable TV face from series including 24: Live Another Day and Quirke, boasts appearances in Shining City and The Weir, while The White Queen star Hale was last at the Court in Wastwater. Beames starred in Borderline and Colder Climate, while Jeremiah’s Court credits include Truth And Reconciliation.
The Nether, which won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize in 2012, opens at the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre Downstairs following the run of Tim Crouch’s Adler And Gibb, which begins previews tomorrow.