Anne-Marie Duff will return to the Almeida Theatre this autumn to star in Ella Hickson’s epic new play Oil alongside rising star Yolanda Kettle as her on stage daughter.
Carrie Cracknell will direct the pair in the drama that takes on the topical subject of one of the world’s most valuable and politically charged resources from 7 October to 26 November.
Described as an “epic, hurtling crash of empire, history and family”, Oil spans from 1889 to the present day, following one family’s relationship with oil after it is discovered in the West Country.
The production will mark the much welcome return to the stage of Shameless star Duff following her critically revered performance in 2015’s Husbands And Sons at the National Theatre.
The star of films including Suffragette and Nowhere Boy will return to the Almeida stage to lead the drama after more than a 15-year wait following her 1999 performance in Vassa.
Since then her theatrical career has seen her lauded for numerous leading performances in shows including Saint Joan at the National Theatre, Cause Célèbre at The Old Vic and 2013’s New York hit production of Macbeth, in which she starred opposite Ethan Hawke.
Kettle will make her Almeida debut in the production under the direction of her frequent collaborator Cracknell. The actor has appeared in the popular director’s productions of Birdland at the Royal Court Theatre and her hugely successful revival of A Doll’s House at the Young Vic. Prior to her appearance in Oil, she’ll appear on the National Theatre stage in Cracknell’s forthcoming production of The Deep Blue Sea.
Oil plays as part of the Islington venue’s star-studded 2016/2017 season that also includes the Ralph Fiennes-led Richard III, the premiere of Adam Brace’s They Drink It In The Congo and Robert Icke’s eagerly anticipated take on Hamlet starring Sherlock’s Andrew Scott and Olivier Award winner Juliet Stevenson.