Downton Abbey star Lily James will join Olivier Award-winner Matthew Kelly in Anya Reiss’ new adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull at the Southwark Playhouse next month.
James, who can currently be seen on television screens playing Lady Rose in ITV’s popular period drama, will be joined in the cast by Joseph Drake, with whom she has previously appeared on stage in the Young Vic’s production of Vernon God Little.
Drake, whose theatre credits include The Lion In Winter at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, returns to the London Bridge venue following his performance in Philip Ridley’s Shivered earlier this year.
The award-winning playwright’s new adaptation of Chekhov’s darkly comic masterpiece, which tells the story of a successful actress who visits her brother’s isolated estate in the country, throwing the frustrated residents’ unfulfilled ambitions into sharp relief, plays from 8 November to 1 December.
Directed by Russell Bolam, the cast will also include Michael Beckley, Anthony Howell, Sasha Waddell, Emily Dobbs, Julia St John, Ben Moor and Malcolm Tierney.
The Seagull plays as part of the Southwark Playhouse’s final season beneath the arches of London Bridge before it moves to another location while the station is redeveloped.