Three time Oliver Award winner Frances de la Tour will star in Alan Bennett’s new play People when it premieres at the National Theatre this autumn.
The veteran stage and screen actress will be joined in the cast by Nicholas Le Prevost, Selina Cadell, Linda Bassett and Peter Egan.
People marks Bennett’s return to the South Bank venue following numerous hits including The History Boys, The Habit Of Art and The Madness Of King George and will be directed by Nicholas Hytner. The plot remains a well guarded secret with Hytner hinting the subject matter will not be revealed until performances begin.
De la Tour is a long-time collaborator with both the playwright and director having earned an Olivier and Tony Award for her role in The History Boys at the NT and on Broadway, and was last seen on stage in Bennett’s The Habit Of Art.
Boasting a career that has spanned more than five decades, the actress has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and starred in numerous London productions including Duet For One, Uncle Vanya, A Moon For The Misbegotten, Three Tall Women and Boeing Boeing. On screen she is famous for her roles in television series Rising Damp and films Hugo, Alice In Wonderland, The Book Of Eli and the Harry Potter series.
Le Prevost, who according to the Daily Mail today will play a character named Ralph Lumsden, has appeared extensively on the London stage in productions including The Last Cigarette at the Trafalgar Studios, Uncle Vanya and Bedroom Farce at the Rose theatre, Kingston, The Philadelphia Story at the Old Vic and My Fair Lady at the National Theatre.
Cadell was last seen on stage alongside de la Tour in The Habit Of Art and has also appeared in Sam Mendes’ Twelfth Night in London and The Cherry Orchard on Broadway. Best known for her screen work, her credits include popular series Foyle’s War, The Amazing Mrs Pritchard and Doc Martin.
Bassett will enjoy a busy autumn season this year, with the award-winning actress set to appear in Caryl Churchill’s Love And Information at the Royal Court in September. The actress is perhaps best known for her screen roles in films Calendar Girls and The Hours, and television programmes Larkrise To Candleford, Sense And Sensibility and Grandma’s House.
While it is not yet known whether more casting will be added to the already accomplished line-up, Egan completes the company announced today. A regular on the stage, the actor has appeared in numerous London productions including Journey’s End, Noises Off, Art, The Hound Of The Baskervilles, A Song At Twilight and The Secret Of Sherlock Holmes, but is possibly still best known for his role in popular 1980s sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles.
Exact running dates for People are yet to be announced.