Stephen Daldry, the Creative Executive Producer of Ceremonies for the London Olympic Games, has joined the line up for the Criterion theatre’s Playing The Games season.
The Billy Elliot director will interview 10,000 metre gold medallist Haile Gebrselassie as part of the season of shows that blends interviews, plays and readings inspired by the London 2012 Olympics.
Actor Clive Owen also turns interviewer for the season, grilling Adrien Niyonshuti, the first Rwandan to qualify for the games in the Cross Country Mountain Biking. Other interviews include Stephen Fry talking to hurdler Edwin Moses who was unbeaten for nearly a decade and TV presenter Rick Edwards speaking with British Olympic hero Kriss Akabusi.
Fry returns alongside comedian Eddie Izzard and actor Brian Blessed for late evening entertainment Stories Before Bedtime, which has a special sporting feel this summer.
Casting has also been announced for the season’s two new plays, which will grace the Criterion theatre’s stage during the season. Tale of an aspiring Congolese swimmer Taking Part will star National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company veteran Paul Moriarty alongside Obi Abili, whose credits include Six Degrees Of Separation at the Old Vic and Dido, Queen Of Carthage at the National.
After The Party, which tells the story of a once promising DJ double act who have the chance to change their lives with the arrival of the Olympics, features Sophie Cosson, David Fynn, Malcolm Hamilton, Kate Lamb and Richard Riddell.
The Playing The Games season at the Criterion, which also includes Paper Cinema’s version of The Odyssey told using cinema, puppets and a three-piece band, runs alongside the venue’s long-running hit comedy, The 39 Steps.