A casting announcement is always an exciting piece of news, and the Almeida Theatre’s full cast for their upcoming production of Vassa is no exception.
Samantha Bond will play the lead role of Vassa. Samantha has impressive theatre credits both in the West End and Broadway, as well as appearing in hit TV shows including Outnumbered, Downton Abbey and Silent Witness. She’s also appeared in four James Bond films including The World Is Not Enough and GoldenEye.
Joining Samantha is Lee Ross as Prokhor. Recently seen donning high heels in the role of Loco Chanel / Hugo in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Lee has also previously appeared in TV shows including Eastenders, Life On Mars and White Gold.
Daniella Isaacs plays Dunyechka. As well as performing her own one-woman show (Hear Me Raw) at both the Edinburgh Fringe and Soho Theatre, Daniella has also appeared in the TV hit, Fleabag.
Danny Kirrane plays Semyon. No stranger to this particular theatre, he recently appeared in The Hunt at the Almeida. His other theatre credits include As You Like It (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) Three Sisters (Young Vic) and Jerusalem (Royal Court, West End and Broadway). He’s also appeared in plenty of TV and films, including Poldark; Game of Thrones and Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge.
Cyril Nri plays Mikhailo. He previously appeared at the Almeida in Desire. His recent theatre credits include The Weatherman (Park Theatre); Barber Shop Chronicles (National Theatre and tour) and Our Country’s Good (National Theatre). His television work includes Death in Paradise, Cucumber and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Sophie Wu plays Lyudmila. You may recognise her from TV work that includes Fresh Meat, The Fades and Black Mirror, as well as the successful movie franchise, Kick-Ass.
And concluding this incredible cast are Amber James (A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) as Anna, Kayla Meikle (Dance Nation at the Almeida) as Natalya, Arthur Hughes (Our Town at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) as Pavel and Alexandra Dowling (Game Of Thrones, Merlin) as Lipa.
A savagely funny play, Vassa is about a crumbling family dynasty.
It’s 8am and a revolt is underway. The father is dying. The son is spying. The wife is cheating. The uncle is stealing. The mother is scheming. The dynasty is crumbling. One house. One fortune. One victor. There are no miracles in this world. Only those we make for ourselves.
A modern adaptation of the story by Maxim Gorky, this new production has been created by Mike Bartlett. Multi-award-winning playwright Mike has previously won an Oliver Award for his work (Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for Bull) and has worked on several plays at the Almeida Theatre before.
Vassa will be directed by Tinuke Craig, who was recently praised for her work on The Color Purple in Curve, Leicester. This will be her debut production at the Almeida Theatre.
Vassa will run at the Almeida Theatre between 5 October – Saturday 23 November. Tickets are on sale now.