David Hare’s latest play, the Glyndebourne-inspired The Moderate Soprano, will receive its world premiere at Hampstead Theatre this autumn.
Starring Roger Allam, the latest work from the Skylight playwright, which will run in Hampstead from 23 October to 28 November, is set in the run-up to the Second World War and tells the story of a man determined to build an opera house on his Sussex estate. The scale of the project is of gargantuan proportions, but when he hears new of a group of refugees in Germany a possibility emerges.
Triple Olivier Award winner Allam is joined in the Hampstead autumn season by another decorated performer, Simon Russell Beale, who will lead the cast of new comedy Mr Foote’s Other Leg.
Opening the season from 14 September to 17 October, Ian Kelly’s play, based on his biography of Samuel Foote, follows the Georgian satirist, impressionist and comedian. Famous at the dawn of the idea of celebrity, Foote is attacked by the press and leaves his friends to wonder whether fame makes you mad.
The award-winning actors are joined at Hampstead by decorated directors; Jeremy Herrin directs The Moderate Soprano while Richard Eyre takes the lead on Mr Foote’s Other Leg.
Speaking about the new productions, Hampstead Theatre Artistic Director Edward Hall said: “As we move into our sixth year at Hampstead it’s a real privilege to bring two fascinating and entertaining new plays to the main stage. Both plays are inspired by true stories, marking a momentous time in British society whilst exploring the place of the Arts in public life.”
Two world premieres on Hampstead Theatre’s main stage are preceded by a third in the venue’s Downstairs space.
Jeremy Brock, the screenwriter behind Mrs Brown and The Last King Of Scotland, opens new play 36 Phone Calls on 25 June. The new drama follows one man’s painstakingly constructed life as it rapidly unravels before him and he must decide what he could or should try to salvage.