Keith Duffy will star in Billy Roche’s A Handful Of Stars at the Trafalgar Studio 2 later this month as part of a season of shows to transfer from Battersea’s Theatre503.
The announcement comes just days after Duffy’s former Boyzone bandmate Ronan Keating was announced to make his West End debut in Olivier Award-winning musical Once in November.
Like Once, A Handful Of Stars is an Ireland-set tale and tells the story of Jimmy Brady as he rails against the moral corruption around him. The production, which was described by The Telegraph’s Dominic Cavendish as a “funny, rueful and tender portrait of adolescent malaise”, will play at the intimate venue from 25 June (press night 1 July) to 25 July.
While best known as a member of 90s pop group Boyzone, Duffy’s acting career has included roles in hit ITV soap Coronation Street and the BBC’s Death In Paradise. Having made his UK stage acting debut in A Handful Of Stars at Theatre503 last month, Duffy will now reprise his role in the production alongside Ciarán Owens (Oh What A Lovely War, Theatre Royal Stratford East) and Michael O’Hagan (Romeo And Juliet at Shakespeare’s Globe).
A Handful Of Stars will be followed in the season by Land Of Our Fathers, Chris Urch’s funny and moving drama about a community of Welsh miners trapped down a collapsed coalmine. Described by The Guardian’s Michael Billington as “undeniably powerful”, the production received sell-out success at Theatre503 in September 2013.
Land Of Our Fathers will play at the Trafalgar Studio 2 from 2 September (press night 5 September) to 4 October with the original cast, including Clive Merrison (The History Boys, National Theatre), Taylor Jay-Davies (Great Expectations, Vaudeville Theatre), Kyle Rees and Joshua Price, reprising their roles.
The season will be directed by Theatre503’s Artistic Director Paul Robinson and marks the Battersea venue’s first West End return following its Olivier Award-winning production of Mountaintop in 2009.