Full casting has been announced for the Gemma Arterton and Stephen Dillane led production of Ibsen’s The Master Builder, which opens at the Almeida theatre in November.
Joining the Tamara Drewe star are Jack Shepherd, John Light, Anastasia Hille, Patrick Godfrey and Emma Hamilton.
Ibsen’s drama tells of Halvard Solness (Dillane), a Master Builder at the top of his trade but with a family life in tatters and a distinct paranoia about being swept aside by the next generation. Into his life comes Hilde Wangel (Arterton), who reinvigorates his professional pride but may, ultimately, prove to be his downfall.
Shepherd, who joins the leading pair to play Doctor Herdal, may be best known for playing television detective Wycliffe. His career as an actor, playwright and director has included forming The Actors’ Company with Ian McKellen and Edward Petherbridge, performing regularly at the Royal Court and National Theatre and, most recently, touring in the Rupert Goold-directed production of Six Characters In Search Of An Author.
Light, whose recent London credits include A New World: A Life Of Thomas Paine (Shakespeare’s Globe) and Apologia (Bush theatre), has previously appeared in Almeida productions including Certain Young Men and The Tower, while Godfrey, who appeared in this summer’s Open Air theatre production of The Crucible, has previously starred in Enemies, The Iceman Cometh and Galileo at the Islington venue.
London stage regular Hille counts National Theatre productions of Dido Queen Of Carthage, Women Of Troy, Waves and Dream Play among her credits, and Hamilton’s acting CV includes regional productions of Twelfth Night, The Glass Menagerie and Northanger Abbey.
News of The Master Builder’s cast comes as the Almeida theatre prepares for tonight’s (16 September) opening of its latest production, House Of Games. Adapted for the stage by Richard Bean from David Mamet’s screenplay, the thriller follows a psychiatrist whose relationship with a patient draws her into a world of hustlers and conmen.
MA