Olivier Award-winning actor Julian Glover will star in the UK premiere of The Scottsboro Boys when it opens at the Young Vic later this year featuring a cast that also includes stars of the original Broadway production Colman Domingo and Forrest McClendon.
Glover, who will play The Interlocutor in the Susan Stroman-directed production, has enjoyed a successful career on stage and screen. Well known for his on screen roles in Steven Spielberg’s fantasy adventure film Indiana Jones And The Last Of The Crusade, Bond movie For Your Eyes Only and HBO series Game Of Thrones, the actor has also appeared extensively on the London stage, starring in West End productions of Macbeth, The Dresser and The History Boys as well as The Voysey Inheritance, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum and Stuff Happens at the National Theatre.
American actors Domingo and McClendon reprise their roles as Mr Bones and Mr Tambo in the Kander and Ebb musical, which notched up 12 nominations including Best Musical when it opened on Broadway. Domingo, who was recently seen on screen in Spielberg’s award-winning epic Lincoln, has previously appeared in Broadway productions including Chicago and Passing Strange, while his co-star McClendon’s theatre credits include Faith Journey and Dreamgirls: The Musical, which also played across the pond.
The talented trio will be joined by Dawn Hope (Porgy And Bess and Piaf) Christian Dante-White and Clinton Roane, who join Domingo and McClendon at the Young Vic cast following their appearances in the production on the other side of the Atlantic, Adebayo Bolaji (Ghost The Musical), Rohan Pinnock-Hamilton (Hairspray), Carl Spencer, Martin Bishop, Susan Reynolds and Jordan Shaw.
Featuring a book by David Thompson and choreography by the show’s director Stroman, The Scottsboro Boys tells the true story of nine young black men who are falsely convicted of rape. Their subsequent trials and appeals, which lasted seven years, divided the nation and had a significant impact on the Civil Rights Movement.
The production, which plays from 18 October (press night 29 October) to 23 November, will open at the Southwark venue following David Greig’s new play The Events, just one in a trio of shows in the Young Vic’s current season that explore themes of violence and terror.