MyAnna Buring and Sinéad Matthews will star in Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s disquieting thriller The Wasp when it begins its run at the Hampstead Downstairs later this month.
The tale of two old school friends whose lives have taken very different paths will play at the Swiss Cottage venue from 29 January to 7 March.
Arguably best known for her screen roles in the blockbuster films The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Parts 1 & 2 and television dramas Ripper Street and Downton Abbey, Buring returns to the London stage following her role in the Olivier Award nominated adaptation of Strangers On A Train at the Gielgud Theatre.
While The Wasp marks Buring’s Hampstead debut, her co-star Matthews returns to the venue following Mike Leigh’s Ecstasy in 2011. The actress’ other recent stage credits include Pests and A Time To Reap at the Royal Court and the Young Vic’s acclaimed productions of The Changeling and The Glass Menagerie.
Matthews and Buring will play Heather and Carla, the two women at the heart of Tom Attenborough’s production. Heather has a high-flying career, a husband and a beautiful home, while Carla lives a hand to mouth existence. Their lives couldn’t be more different, yet they find themselves in a café drinking tea and making awkward conversation. Then Heather presents Carla with a bag containing a significant amount of cash and an unexpected proposition…
While The Wasp plays in the Hampstead Downstairs, in the venue’s main space Shaun Evans and Miranda Raison will lead the cast of Hello/Goodbye, Peter Souter’s modern metropolitan guide to falling in (and out) of love.
You can watch Myanna Buring, Sinéad Matthews, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and Tom Attenborough talk about The Wasp in a video at the top of the page.