Today, Nottingham Playhouse has announced the full casting for Adrian Scarborough’s adaptation of Alan Bennett’s comic novella The Clothes They Stood Up In. Opening in September, this is the first time the popular story has been told on stage and kicks off the Playhouse’s Autumn season.
Previously announced Olivier Award winners Sophie Thompson (Four Weddings and a Funeral – Richard Curtis, Into The Woods – Donmar Warehouse, Present Laughter – The Old Vic) and Adrian Scarborough (The History Boys – Nicolas Hytner/Free Range Films, Gavin & Stacey – BBC,Leopoldstadt – Wyndhams Theatre) play the central roles of Maurice and Rosemary Ransome. These stalwart actors first performed together in Robert Altman’s modern classic film, Gosford Park. The production reunites Scarborough with director Adam Penford after they worked together on the acclaimed Playhouse production of Bennett’s The Madness of George III, for which the actor won the WhatsOnStage award for Best Supporting Actor. That production was also screened into cinemas worldwide by NT Live.
Completing the cast will be Ned Costello (Napoleon – Ridley Scott, Brittanicus – Lyric Theatre Hammersmith), Charlie de Melo (The Interceptor – BBC, Much Ado About Nothing – Shakespeare’s Globe) and Natasha Magigi (Anatomy of a Scandal – Netflix, Don Quixote – Royal Shakespeare Company), each in a variety of roles. Fans of Coronation Street will also recognise Charlie de Melo as the notorious solicitor, Imran Habeeb, who recently dramatically departed the soap to the distress of fans.
A night at the opera ends with a shock for mild-mannered couple Maurice and Rosemary, when they open their front door to discover their flat completely empty. From light bulbs to carpets to toilet paper, even their chicken casserole has been stolen.
The Ransomes turn detective to try and work out who is behind this outrageous act, and why and how they did it. Along the way, they are forced to examine their lives when stripped bare of the worldly possessions that define us all. Should they rebuild their old life, or begin afresh?
A bittersweet exploration of marriage, dreams and lives unlived, Adrian Scarborough’s adaptation brings Bennett’s hilarious story to the stage for the first time, capturing his trademark observational wit in this gentle and darkly surprising tale.
