Romola Garai, Alexandra Gilbreath and Nicholas Burns are to star in Penelope Skinner’s The Village Bike at the Royal Court this summer.
The Crimson Petal And The White star Garai will lead the cast as Becky, a pregnant and bored wife. When she tries to attract the interests of her distracted husband with new underwear, frustration leads to reckless abandon when she discovers he is more interested in the baby manual while she would rather be reading the porn stash under the bed.
Garai was last seen on stage at the Lyric Hammersmith in Three Sisters. Her other stage credits include King Lear and The Seagull for the Royal Shakespeare Company, but the actress is best known for her screen work which includes films Atonement and I Capture The Castle, and television drama Emma.
Nathan Barley star Burns joins the cast as Garai’s onstage husband John. The actor has worked extensively in comedy, appearing in surreal television series Psychoville and The Mighty Boosh, and ITV’s Benidorm. On stage he appeared in Ghost Stories, Fat Pig and Much Ado About Nothing.
Olivier Award-nominated actress Gilbreath plays Jenny. The actress has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company, earning her Olivier Award nomination for the company’s 2009 production of Twelfth Night at the Duke of York’s theatre. Her other credits include Hay Fever at the Rose Theatre Kingston and starring roles in television series Monarch Of The Glen and The Bill.
Directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins (The Girlfriend Experience, The Family Plays), The Village Bike is playwright Skinner’s Royal Court debut. The provocative drama previews from 24 June before facing the press on 1 July.
CM