Nancy Carroll is to star in the psychological thriller House Of Games at the Almeida theatre in September. She will be joined by Trevor Cooper, Dermot Crowley, Amanda Drew, Peter De Jersey, Michael Landes, John Marquez and Al Weaver.
Richard Bean’s new stage version of David Mamet’s 1987 film tells the story of a Havard educated psychoanalyst, Dr Margaret Ford, who helps one of her patients settle his gambling debts and is drawn into the seedy underworld of the House Of Games poker club. Seduced by charismatic hustler Mike, Margaret convinces herself that she can make an academic study of the con-artist, but before she realises it, Margaret is entangled in a fast-paced thriller.
Carroll, who plays Ford, is currently starring alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in the National Theatre’s After The Dance. This will be her third visit to the Almeida having starred in Waste and King Lear at the Islington venue. Carroll has worked extensively for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), recently starring in Twelfth Night at the Duke of York’s theatre as well as Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, As You Like It, The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe and The Winter’s Tale. Her other West End credits include Arcadia at the Duke of York’s theatre and on screen she has been seen in Cambridge Spies and Midsomer Murders.
Cooper is regularly seen on the Almeida stage, having recently appeared in Michael Attenborough’s Measure For Measure as well Awake And Sing and The Late Henry Moss. In the West End he appeared alongside Carroll in Arcadia. His other stage credits include Playing With Fire at the National Theatre, and work for the RSC including King John and The Lieutenant Of Inishmore. On screen he has appeared in television on Spooks, Outnumbered and Tess Of The D’Ubervilles and in films including Vanity Fair and Happy Go Lucky.
Almeida regular Drew also returns to the venue, having most recently starred there in Parlour Song and Enemies. Drew’s numerous other stage credits include Enron at the Royal Court and Noël Coward theatre, Faces In The Crowd and The Stone at the Royal Court, Otherwise Engaged at the Criterion theatre and Blithe Sprit at the Savoy theatre. On television she is well known for playing Dr May Wright in EastEnders and her film credits include Mrs Dalloway and This Year’s Love.
Marquez returns to the Almeida having performed in A Chain Play and The Hypochondriac. His credits also include The Good Soul Of Szechuan at the Young Vic theatre and numerous productions at the National Theatre including The Emperor Jones and Sing Yer Heart Out For The Lads.
Last seen at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in Breakfast At Tiffany’s, Crowley makes his Almeida debut in House Of Games. His stage credits include Stuff Happens and Scenes From The Big Picture at the National Theatre, Calico at the Duke of York’s theatre and the Weir at the Royal Court. Best known for his work on television, Crowley has appeared in Margaret, Luther, Bleak House and Spooks, as well as boasting film credits including Babel and The Return Of The Jedi.
Also making their Almeida stage debuts are: De Jersey, who has been seen in War And Peace, The Merchant Of Venice and Troilus And Cressida at the National Theatre and RSC productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet; Landes, who has acted in When Harry Met Sally at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and in numerous television series including New Tricks and Love Soup; and Weaver, whose previous work includes Toyer at the Arts Theatre and How To Curse at the Bush theatre.
House Of Games opens on 16 September, with previews from 9 September, and runs until 6 November.
CM