TV presenter and actor Matthew Kelly is to return to the London stage next month, when he stars as George in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? at the Trafalgar Studio 2.
Kelly, who won a Laurence Olivier Award in 2003 for his performance in Of Mice And Men, stars opposite Tracey Childs, Louise Kempton and Mark Farrelly in the story of a cocktail party that descends into an evening of hell.
The production, directed by Andrew Hall, was originally staged at the Lichfield Garrick in autumn 2008, where it sold out its run. Albee’s play was last produced in the West End in 2006, when Kathleen Turner took the lead role and received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination.
Kelly is most easily recognised as the former host of long running prime time talent show Stars In Their Eyes, but turned his back on light entertainment following a high profile abuse investigation that was subsequently dropped, to focus on his acting career. Since making that decision, his credits have included Victory (Arcola theatre), Endgame (Liverpool Everyman) and Amadeus (Wilton’s Music Hall).
Childs, a regular from BBC Sunday evening drama Born And Bred, previously worked with Kelly in a 1987 production of The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. Possibly best known for playing Lynne Howard in late 80s TV drama Howard’s Way, her stage career has included leading roles in Miss Julie, Private Lives and High Society.
Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? opens at the Trafalgar Studio 2 following teenage drama New Boy, which stars Nicholas Hoult, Mel Giedroyc and Ciara Janson, and runs from 17 March to 11 April.
MA