Helen Baxendale is to return to the London stage in the premiere of April De Angelis’s new play Amongst Friends, which opens at the Hampstead theatre on 26 May.
The former star of Friends and Cold Feet is joined in the cast by Emma Cunniffe, James Dreyfus, Aiden Gillett and Vicki Pepperdine.
De Angelis’s new comedy is a tale of a dinner party gone wrong. Journalist Lara (Baxendale) and crime writer husband Richard (Gillett) are both happy and successful. Having moved to a ‘gated community’ they invite their old neighbours over for dinner. But when the security system fails the party acquires an unexpected guest and events take an unexpected turn.
Best known for her television roles, which also include An Unsuitable Job For A Woman and Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years, Baxendale’s last London stage appearance came opposite Christian Slater and Matt Smith in 2007’s Swimming With Sharks. Amongst Friends marks her third appearance at Hampstead theatre, where she has also appeared in Morning And Evening and Bearing Fruit.
Cunniffe also returns to the venue for the third time, following appearances in The Glass Room and Losing Louis. Her on-screen credits include The Lakes, Clocking Off and Flesh And Blood.
Laurence Olivier Award-winner Dreyfus is best known for TV comedies The Thin Blue Line and Gimme Gimme Gimme, though his West End credits include Cabaret, The Producers and Donkeys’ Years.
Amongst Friends is the second new play to be staged as part of the Hampstead theatre’s 50th anniversary season which also includes the revival of Frank McGuinness’s Observe The Sons Of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme and current production Alphabetical Order.
MA