Mackenzie Crook has joined Mark Rylance in the cast of Jerusalem, Jez Butterworth’s new play which runs in the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from 10 July to 15 August (press night 15 July).
Crook’s London stage credits include One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, The Exonerated and former Royal Court Artistic Director Ian Rickson’s production of The Seagull at the Royal Court in 2007. However the actor is best known for his screen work which includes The Office and The Pirates Of The Caribbean film trilogy.
Crook is once again directed by Rickson in Jerusalem, Butterwoth’s comic vision of contemporary life in our green and pleasant land. He plays Ginger, friend and partner in crime of Rylance’s Johnny Byron, a local waster and modern day Pied Piper. Byron is a wanted man; the council officials want to serve him an eviction notice, his children want their dad to take them to the fair, Troy Whitworth wants to give him a serious kicking and a motley crew of mates want his ample supply of drugs and alcohol.
Butterworth’s other plays include Mojo, The Night Heron and The Winterling, all of which premiered at the Royal Court under Rickson, and Parlour Song, which closed on Saturday at the Almeida theatre.
Crook and Rylance are joined in Jerusalem by Gerard Horan, who appeared at the Royal Court earlier this year in A Miracle.
Jerusalem opens in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs following Wallace Shawn’s Aunt Dan And Lemon, starring Jane Horrocks, which plays from 20 May to 27 June.
CB