Jenna Russell to star in UK regional premiere of EUREKA DAY at Nottingham Playhouse
It has been announced that Olivier award winner Jenna Russell will lead the cast of the UK regional premiere of Eureka Day, which plays at Nottingham Playhouse from 25 October-15 November.
Jenna Russell is an award-winning actress with a celebrated career across stage, film and television. Most recently, she played Irene Molloy in Hello, Dolly! at the London Palladium opposite Imelda Staunton, and appeared at Chichester Festival Theatre in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.
Returning to Nottingham Playhouse after appearing in Piaf in 2021, Jenna will play Suzanne, a parent of children who attend the progressive Eureka Day School and a member of the parents’ ‘Executive Committee’.
Jenna said: “I’m so looking forward to returning to Nottingham Playhouse and to working with director James Grieve on this brilliant and timely piece. I can honestly say, I’ve never laughed so much reading a script as I did reading Jonathan Spector’s darkly comic play.”
The UK regional premiere of Jonathan Spector’s razor-sharp comedy Eureka Day sees friendships challenged when an outbreak of mumps reveals that not everyone is on board with the school’s vaccine policy. The Executive Committee of well-meaning parents and teachers at a progressive Californian elementary school fall apart, as their selfless paradise crumbles and meetings are derailed by parental hysteria.
This laugh-out-loud play shows how even the most enlightened communities are just one epidemic away from complete turmoil.
Director James Grieve said: “I am beyond thrilled to be working with one of the nation’s finest leading actors in this tremendous part in such a magnificent play. Jenna’s exceptional skill, intuition and dexterity will bring Suzanne thrillingly to life and I can’t wait for Nottingham audiences to see her again grace the Nottingham Playhouse stage.”
Other creatives include designer Eleanor Field, lighting designer Elliot Griggs, sound designer and composer Lee Affen, video designer Matt Powell, casting director Ginny Schiller CDG, and voice and dialect coach Aundrea Fudge.