The lure of the Tricycle theatre has drawn five original cast members back to reprise their roles in upcoming productions of Moonlight And Magnolias and Let There Be Love.
Andy Nyman and Steven Pacey, who led the cast of Ron Hutchinson’s Moonlight And Magnolias when it was staged at the Tricycle in autumn 2007, return for the comedy’s July revival. Joining them are new cast members Nicholas Woodeson and Rebecca Calder.
Nyman, a long-time collaborator with psychological illusionist Derren Brown, plays David O Selznick opposite Pacey (Democracy, The Old Masters, The Constant Wife, By Jeeves) as director Vic Fleming in this comic tale of film-making and 1930s Hollywood. The filming of Gone With The Wind is about to be shut down. In a last gasp effort to save the production Selznick, Fleming and writer Ben Hecht (Woodeson) desperately attempt to rewrite the script.
New cast member Calder counts Silver Birch House and Pera Palas (Arcola) among her credits, while Woodeson has been ever-present in London over recent months, appearing in Legal Fictions (Savoy) and The Birthday Party (Lyric Hammersmith) already this year.
The revival of Kwame Kwei-Armah’s Let There Be Love (5-30 August) has enticed the entire cast of the world premiere – Joseph Marcell, Sharon Duncan-Brewster and Lydia Leonard – back to the Kilburn venue.
Set against the music of Nat King Cole, Kwei-Armah’s comic-drama tells of West Indian pensioner Alfred who, when he is kicked out of his daughter’s house, is gifted a Polish cleaner/home help. While frosty to this intrusion to begin with, Alfred sees a way to be useful in teaching Maria how to be British.
Marcell is best known for his long-running role as Geoffrey the butler in US comedy The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air. Away from the small screen he has numerous credits with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has appeared previously at the Tricycle in Walk Hard Talk Loud and Gem Of The Ocean.
Like Marcell, Duncan-Brewster is a Tricycle regular, appearing in Fabulation, Playboy Of The West Indies and Blues For Mr Charlie.
Unlike Marcell and Duncan-Brewster, when Let There Be Love premiered earlier this year, Leonard was a newcomer to the Tricycle. Her other credits include Frost/Nixon (Donmar Warehouse and Gielgud), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bristol Old Vic) and Hecuba (Royal Shakespeare Company).
Moonlight And Magnolias and Let There Be Love make their returns following the run another of Hutchinson piece, Topless Mum. The satire of media manipulation, about a soldier returning from Afghanistan with incriminating photos to sell, runs until 28 June.
MA