Actors Isla Blair and David Cardy will join Gemma Arterton in the musical stage adaptation of hit film Made In Dagenham. The production opens at the Adelphi Theatre in November.
Blair, whose prestigious stage career has included seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company, takes the role of factory worker Connie, played in the film by Geraldine James.
Cardy, who has most recently appeared in the West End productions of Ghost Stories and Dreamboats And Petticoats, will play union rep Monty, replacing the movie’s Kenneth Cranham.
The pair joins a previously announced cast including Hollywood star Gemma Arterton, Adrian Der Gregorian, Steve Furst, Mark Hadfield and Sophie-Louise Dann.
Made In Dagenham follows the fortunes of Rita O’Grady, a working mother at the centre of a battle against car manufacturer Ford and the union that is supposed to support its members. When the women working in the stitching room at Ford’s Dagenham car plant have their pay grade reduced to ‘unskilled’, they unite to fight for what is right. But will Rita’s home life survive the strain of striking?
The award-laden creative team bringing the big screen hit to the stage include One Man, Two Guvnors writer Richard Bean, Bond score composer David Arnold, Jerry Springer The Opera co-creator Richard Thomas and acclaimed director Rupert Goold.
The musical opens at the Adelphi Theatre in the autumn following the end of The Bodyguard’s West End run. The curtain comes down on the Whitney Houston musical on 29 August.