Three Sisters star Mariah Gale will appear alongside Felix Scott in the Gate theatre’s forthcoming European premiere of Gruesome Playground Injuries.
Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph’s two-hander, which is directed by this year’s Leverhulme Bursary recipient Justin Audibert, will play at the Notting Hill venue from 22 January (press night 24 January) until 16 February.
Gale, who made the 2012 Evening Standard Award long list for her acclaimed performance in the Young Vic theatre’s hugely successful production of Three Sisters earlier this year, will take on the role of damaged Kayleen in Joseph’s darkly witty drama which races back and forth in time to tell the story of two characters’ dysfunctional and twisted relationship.
Prior to her most recent role at the Young Vic, award-winning Gale starred in Vernon God Little (Young Vic), The Pitchfork Disney (Arcola theatre) and in ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore, which earned her Critics’ Circle and Time Out Awards for her performance.
A regular performer with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Gale’s roles with the esteemed company include starring turns as Juliet in Rupert Goold’s critically acclaimed 2010 production of Romeo And Juliet and as Ophelia in the high profile production of Hamlet starring David Tennant. On screen the actress has appeared in The Diary Of Anne Frank, Skins and Olivier Twist.
Scott will play the accident prone Doug who is inexplicably drawn to Kayleen in the unusual love story. The actor’s extensive London theatre credits include The Under Room (Lyric Hammersmith), Dr Faustus (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Maddening Rain (Soho theatre and Broadway), Women, Power And Politics (Tricycle Theatre), Sudden Loss Of Dignity (Bush theatre) and The Man Who Had All The Luck (Donmar Warehouse). His work on screen includes Naked Apes, Missing, Plus One, Wire In The Blood, and Synchronicity, as well as films Blitz, Inception and Artefacts.
Joseph’s heartbreaking and passionate story of modern American will be the first production to play at the venue in 2013 following its recent success with Artistic Director Christopher Haydon’s version of The Trojan Women.