Olivier Award-winning actress Michelle Terry will appear in Matthew Dunster’s forthcoming production Before The Party at the Almeida theatre, the first production of Somerset Maugham’s work in more than 25 years.
A drama about social success and a community attempting to return to normal after the Second World War, joining Terry to complete the family at the centre of the story are Stella Gonet, Katherine Parkinson, June Watson, Michael Thomas and Alex Price.
Terry, who won her Olivier Award for her role in the Royal Court theatre’s Tribes, can currently be seen back at the Sloane Square venue starring in Martin Crimp’s surreal In The Republic Of Happiness. A well-known face on both stage and screen, Terry has starred at the National Theatre in productions of A Comedy Of Errors, All’s Well That Ends Well and London Assurance, as well as Love’s Labour Lost at Shakespeare’s Globe and the Donmar Warehouse’s The Man Who Had All The Luck, and boasts TV credits including The Cafe, Reunited, Law And Order and Extras.
While Gonet is a stage veteran, Before The Party marks her Almeida theatre debut. Last seen on stage in Top Girls at the Trafalgar Studios, the actress’s extensive credits include Women, Power And Politics at the Tricycle Theatre, Racing Demon and Hamlet for the National Theatre, and Three Sisters and The Revenger’s Tragedy for the Royal Shakespeare Company. On screen she is probably best known for fashion house drama House Of Elliott.
Parkinson is also a familiar face on screen, arguably best known for her long-running role in cult series The IT Crowd, alongside other comedies including The Bleak Old Shop Of Stuff, Psychoville and films The Boat That Rocked and How To Lose Friends And Alienate People. Her stage career has seen her star in Season’s Greetings at the National Theatre, The School For Scandal at the Barbican and in the Olivier Award-winning Cock at the Royal Court theatre.
Currently appearing in Uncle Vanya at the Vaudeville theatre, Watson is a National Theatre regular having appeared in productions including The Good Hope, Cardiff East and Billy Liar.
Thomas, who returns to the Almeida theatre following appearances in Waste and Festen, is also a South Bank regular, having appeared in All’s Well That Ends Well, St Joan and Pillars Of The Community for the National Theatre.
Price has was last seen on the London stage in Electra at the Gate theatre and boasts many screen credits including Doctor Who, Merlin and Being Human.
Young actresses Polly Dartford, Anna Devlin and Emily Lane will complete the cast, alternating the role of the family’s youngest member Susan.
Dunster’s production plays from 21 March (press night 28 March) until 11 May and follows The Turn Of The Screw, which will open the acclaimed Islington venue’s 2013 season later this month.