Cast Announced for The Nether at the Royal Court Theatre

Thursday 12 June 2014

CAST ANNOUNCED FOR THE NETHER AT THE ROYAL COURT THEATRE

The cast has been announced for Jennifer Haley’s play The Nether, a co-production with Headlong, at the Royal Court Theatre in London (17 July to 9 August – press night 24 July). The full cast is David Beames, Zoe Brough, Amanda Hale, Ivanno Jeremiah, Isabella Pappas and Stanley Townsend.

Directed by Jeremy Herrin, The Nether invites the audience to examine provocative and difficult questions in our increasingly technological age where even in a virtual world there can be real moral consequences.

“I’ve read the studies. No one has been able to draw a conclusive correlation between virtual behaviour and behaviour in-world.”

Set in the not too distant future, The Nether offers complete freedom – a wonderland that provides total sensory immersion. Just log in, choose an identity and indulge your every desire. But when a young detective uncovers a disturbing brand of entertainment, she triggers an interrogation into the darkest corners of imagination.

Winner of the 2012 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, The Nether is both an intricate crime drama and a haunting sci-fi thriller that explores the repercussions of making dreams a reality.

The production will be set designed by Es Devlin, with costumes by Christina Cunningham, lighting by Paul Pyant, music by Nick Powell, sound by Ian Dickinson and video by Luke Halls.

Jennifer Haley is an L.A. based playwright. Her play The Nether premiered at Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre in 2013, where it won the Susan Smith Blackburn prize, the Ovation Award for Best New Play and an L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award. Her other credits include Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Breadcrumbs at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival and Sustainable Living, featured at the Ojai Playwrights Conference. Her play Froggy is in development with The Banff Centre and American Conservatory Theatre. Jennifer currently writes for the Netflix original series Hemlock Grove.

Jeremy Herrin directs. The Nether is the second show in Jeremy’s inaugural season as Artistic Director of Headlong and follows the huge critical success of Anya Reiss’s Spring Awakening. His most recent credits include the hugely successful and critically acclaimed adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies in two parts for the RSC, currently playing in the West End. Jeremy was Deputy Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre from 2009 until 2012, where his credits included No Quarter, Hero, Haunted Child, The Heretic, Kin, Spur of the Moment, Off the Endz, The Priory, Tusk Tusk, The Vertical Hour and That Face, which transferred to the West End. Other credits include This House at the National Theatre, for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Director, Another Country, Uncle Vanya and South Downs at Chichester Festival Theatre which transferred to the West End, Absent Friends in the West End and The Tempest and Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe.

ends

Notes to Editors:

For more information and press tickets, please contact Anna Evans on 020 7565 5063 or email annaevans@royalcourttheatre.com.

For Headlong contact Clióna Roberts on 020 7704 6224/07754756504 or email cliona@crpr.co.uk.

Creative Team:

Jeremy Herrin Director
Es Devlin Set Designer
Christina Cunningham Costume Designer
Paul Pyant Lighting Designer
Nick Powell Composer
Ian Dickinson for Autograph Sound Designer
Luke Halls Video Designer

Cast:

David Beames Doyle
Zoe Brough and Isabella Pappas Iris
Amanda Hale Morris
Ivanno Jeremiah Woodnut
Stanley Townsend Sims

Cast Biographies:

David Beames’s Royal Court credits include Borderline and Colder Climate. His Headlong credits include The Seagull. Other theatre credits include Happy Days at the Young Vic, Chariots of Fire at the Gielgud and Taming of the Shrew at The Globe.

Zoe Brough is making her professional stage debut with The Nether.

Amanda Hale last appeared at the Royal Court in Wastwater. Her Headlong credits include King Lear. Other theatre credits include Eldorado at the Arcola, The Domino Heart at the Finborough, The House of Bernarda Alba at the Almeida and Our Class at the National. Her television credits include Dates, The White Queen and Being Human. Her film credits include _The Invisible Woman and The Look of Love.

Ivanno Jeremiah last appeared at the Royal Court in Truth and Reconciliation. Other theatre credits include Julius Caesar for the RSC and As You Like It for the West Yorkshire Playhouse. His television credits include The Jury.

Isabella Pappas is making her professional stage debut with The Nether.

Stanley Townsend’s Royal Court credits include Tribes, The Alice Trilogy, Shining City and The Weir. Other theatre credits include King Lear and Phèdre at the National, Broken Glass at the Tricycle and A View from a Bridge at the Lyceum, Edinburgh. His television credits include Quirke and The Shadow Line and his film credits include The Libertine and Happy Go Lucky.

Listings Information:

Age Guidance 18+ – Contains adult content and language and scenes of a disturbing nature.

The Nether
by Jennifer Haley
Directed by Jeremy Herrin
Thursday 17 July – Saturday 9 August
*Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square SW1W 8AS
Monday-Saturday 7.30pm
Saturday Matinees 2.30pm (from 26 July)
Thursday Matinees 2.30pm (from 31 July)
Press Night Thursday 24 July
Captioned Performance Wednesday 6 August
Audio Described Performances Saturday 9 August 2.30pm
Tickets £32, £22, £16, £12
Mondays all seats £10 (available in advance to Friends and Supporters subject to availability and on the day of the performance from 9am online)
Concessions £5 off top two prices* (available in advance for all performances until 26 July inclusive and all matinees. For all other performances, available on a standby basis on the day)
25s and under £10 (limited availability)
School and HE Groups of 8+ 50% off top two prices (available Wednesday-Saturday), plus matinees)
Groups of 6+ £5 off top price (available Wednesday-Saturday)
Access £12 (plus a companion at the same rate)
ID required. All discounts are subject to availability

The Royal Court Theatre

The Royal Court is the writers’ theatre. It is a leading force in world theatre, finding writers and producing new plays that are original and contemporary. The Royal Court strives to be at the centre of civic, political, domestic and international life, giving a writers a home to tackle big ideas and world events and tell great stories.

The Nether is a co-production with Headlong Theatre

Headlong is one of the UK’s leading theatre companies, dedicated to making exhilarating, risk-taking and provocative new work and collaborating with the most exciting and adventurous theatre artists in the country. Productions include 1984 which is currently playing in the West End and will tour in Autumn, Chimerica (Almeida/West End), American Psycho (Almeida), The Seagull (UK Tour), The Effect and Earthquakes in London at the National Theatre, Decade at St Katharine Docks and the multi award-winning ENRON at the Royal Court, in the West End and on Broadway. In September 2013 Jeremy Herrin was appointed Artistic Director of Headlong.

The Royal Court Theatre is supported by Coutts

Coutts is a private bank and a wealth manager with three centuries of experience, providing customised solutions for its clients. These include investment, trust and tax services. Headquartered in London, Coutts is the Wealth division of Royal Bank of Scotland Group, connecting with clients from over 40 offices in key financial centres in the UK, Switzerland, the Middle East and Asia. Coutts has a long history of supporting the arts going back 200 years, having　looked after　the financial affairs of many famous clients connected with the arts such as Bram Stoker, Charles Dickens and　Chopin.　 In 1816, Thomas Coutts married Harriot Mellon, a popular actress of her day, and together they became partners of a number of London Theatres, including the Drury Lane and the Royal Opera House.　 Coutts　has even　featured in a number of artistic works including The Gondoliers by Gilbert and Sullivan, and Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. In the new millennium, this tradition has continued not only through managing the finances of many of today’s top writers, actors and musicians, but also through our arts sponsorship programme and we are delighted to support The Royal Court and its diverse range of ground-breaking performances. For further information please visit www.coutts.com

Royal Court Theatre Innovation Partner