Casting announced for THE GATHERED LEAVES at Park Theatre
Following the recent announcement that Andrew Keatley’s critically acclaimed family drama The Gathered Leaves will return to Park Theatre’s Park200 stage from 13 August-20 September, the theatre has announced the show’s cast.
Starring in this highly praised intergeneration story is star of stage and screen, Jonathan Hyde (Gently Down The Stream) as the domineering patriarch William; Joanne Pearce (Hamlet) as his long suffering, yet poised wife, Olivia; Richard Stirling (Cecil Beaton’s Diaries) as the eldest son Samuel; Chris Larkin (Noises Off) as the middle child, Giles; Zoë Waites (Julius Caesar) as Sophie, Giles’ wife; George Lorimer (professional stage debut) as their son, Simon; and Ella Dale (The Railway Children) as their daughter, Emily. Olivia Vinall (The Circle) will play Alice, the estranged youngest child of William and Olivia, with Taneetrah Porter (Harry Potter and The Cursed Child) as her teenage daughter Aurelia, meeting the family for the first time. The cast is completed by Joe Burrell as a young Samuel and Ellis Elijah (both making their professional stage debuts) as a young Giles.
This revival comes a decade after its sold-out premiere and is directed by former Royal Shakespeare Company Artistic Director, Adrian Noble, who said: “I love this play, and I’m thrilled to be bringing The Gathered Leaves to Park Theatre this summer with such a talented cast. It’s set over Easter weekend in 1997 and tells the story of a family coming to terms with their painful past and arriving at a place of forgiveness. The characters are brilliantly drawn. It’s rather special and it is a privilege to work with this ensemble and to share this moving story with audiences in such an intimate space.”
The Pennington family have not been in the same room for 17 years, yet on the eve of William’s 75th birthday, all three generations gather in the hope that the mistakes of the past can be resigned to history.
The Gathered Leaves is a moving, poignant and funny family drama that sees the weight of history, of reputation, and of expectation, all descend on one family over Easter weekend in 1997.
Written by Andrew Keatley, the production features design by Dick Bird, lighting by Paul Pyant, sound by Max Pappenheim, and casting by Gabrielle Dawes CDG.
