Casting for award-winning actor Rory Kinnear’s debut play The Herd has been announced, with a host of stage regulars lined up for its world premiere at the Bush theatre this September.
Adrian Bower, Louise Brealey, Anna Calder Marshall, Kenneth Cranham, Adrian Rawlins and Amanda Root will star in Kinnear’s witty look at family life, which focuses on what happens when things don’t turn out quite the way you had expected and plays at the West London venue from 13 September (press night 18 September).
Like the playwright himself, the cast for The Herd are all familiar faces both on stage and screen.
Bower is arguably best known for his long-running appearances in comic television series including Teachers, Rev and Gimme Gimme Gimme, but also boasts stage credits including the Bush theatre’s Elling, Ordinary Dreams at the Trafalgar Studios, The Hotel In Amsterdam at the Donmar Warehouse and Hedda at the Gate theatre.
Alongside a starring role in hit BBC series Sherlock, Brealey counts Father Brown and hit film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel amongst her many screen appearances. The actress has also become a familiar face on stage in recent years, appearing in the Bush theatre’s Sixty-Six Books, the Gate theatre’s acclaimed The Trojan Women, the Young Vic’s The Government Inspector and Birthday at the Royal Court.
Veteran theatre performer Calder Marshall’s appearance in The Herd follows recent leading roles in In The Republic Of Happiness at the Royal Court and Salt, Root And Roe, which played as part of the 2011 Donmar Trafalgar season. An Emmy Award-winning actress, Calder Marshall’s credits on screen include popular dramas Poirot, Midsomer Murders and Dalziel And Pascoe.
Cranham has appeared extensively at the National Theatre and with the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as boasting West End credits including Entertaining Mr Sloane, Loot and An Inspector Calls. The actor is probably best known for his screen appearances, however, most famously starring in the title role of cult 80s series Shine On Harvey Moon.
Rawlins is also a National Theatre regular, appearing in productions including The Miser, Her Naked Skin and A View From The Bridge at the lauded venue. The actor’s extensive television credits include Silent Witness, Father Brown and Mrs Biggs, while for many he will be best known for his role as Harry Potter’s late father in the hugely successful film series.
Completing the cast, Tony Award-winning actress Root returns to the stage following the Royal Court and West End’s 2012 hit Jumpy. The actress’ many other credits include The Norman Conquests at the Old Vic theatre and on Broadway, and Conversations After A Burial at the Almeida theatre, as well as numerous appearances with the Royal Shakespeare Company. On screen, Root boasts roles in The Forsyte Saga, Foyle’s War, Mortimer’s Law and A Touch Of Frost, and films The Iron Lady, Persuasion and Jane Eyre.
Directed by Olivier Award winner Howard Davies, the much-anticipated production will play until 26 October and follows another actor’s playwrighting debut, Cush Jumbo’s Josephine And I, which continues its hit run until 17 August.