Jane Asher will star alongside her daughter Katie Scarfe in the world premiere of Andrew Keatley’s The Gathered Leaves at the Park Theatre this summer.
The production, which is directed by current The Woman In Black star Antony Eden, will bring its tale of family history, reputation and expectation to the Finsbury Park venue from 16 July to 15 August.
Star of Alfie and Brideshead Revisited, Asher, whose recent stage credits include Pride And Prejudice at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, will lead the family drama that charts the story of the Penningtons as they gather together on the eve of William’s 75th birthday for the first time in more than 17 years.
She is joined by her daughter Scarfe, whose London stage credits include Mercury Fur at the Trafalgar Studios and Season’s Greetings at the National Theatre, with further casting still to be announced.
The production will open in the Park Theatre’s largest auditorium Park200 prior to Nick Darke’s The Dead Monkey, starring James Lance, which opens in the venue’s more intimate Park90 space.
Lance, who was last seen on the London stage as P G Wodehouse’s much-loved aristocratic fool in the
Olivier Award-winning Jeeves And Wooster In Perfect Nonsense, will play Hank in the story of a grimy American marriage from 9 June to 14 July.
Examining the sphincter of modern life, the dark comic play, first staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1986, tells of how the relentless march of time has taken its toll on two people with a monkey metaphorically – and literally – on their shoulders.
Directed by Hannah Price (Boa, Trafalgar Studios), Lance is joined in the cast by Ruth Gibson (The Kitchen, National Theatre) and Charles Reston.
Commemorating the 10th anniversary of Darke’s death, the production opens following current Park90 hit Skin In Flames, which closes on 6 June.