Orange Tree Theatre has announced the full cast for the first major London revival of Polly Stenham’s That Face. Josh Seymour directs the previously announced Niamh Cusack alongside Kasper Hilton-Hille, Dominic Mafham, Sarita Gabony and Bridgerton’s Ruby Stokes in this powerful and darkly comic exploration of what happens when children become parents to their parents. That Face is Stenham’s debut play and won the Evening Standard Charles Wintour Award, the TMA Best New Play Award, and the Critics’ Circle Award. The production opens on 13 September with previews from 9 September and runs until 7 October.
Artistic Director Tom Littler said today: “We cannot wait to launch our autumn season with Polly Stenham’s remarkable first play. Niamh Cusack brings her unique talent to the role of Martha, and she is joined by two stage debutants in Ruby Stokes and Kasper Hilton-Hille, playing her children. Dominic Mafham and Sarita Gabony complete a very exciting cast. For those who saw the original production, this is a chance to re-encounter a contemporary classic; those who’ve never seen That Face are in for a treat.”
When Mia is expelled from boarding school, her mother Martha isn’t interested. Martha prefers to hang out with her son Henry. And now her estranged husband Hugh, who’s run off to Hong Kong with his new girlfriend, is charging back threatening to sort things out. What is there to sort out? Everything is fine.
Polly Stenham’s blazing debut play exposes the secret lives of the rich with anarchic humour. That Face won the Evening Standard Charles Wintour Award, the TMA Best New Play Award, and the Critics’ Circle Award. This is its first major London revival.
Niamh Cusack plays Martha. Her theatre credits include Hamlet (Bristol Old Vic), Faith Healer (Abbey Theatre), My Brilliant Friend, The Enchantment, His Dark Materials (National Theatre), Macbeth (Barbican), Ghosts (Home Theatre Manchester), Unfaithful (Found111), The Winter’s Tale (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse), Tickling (Trafalgar Studios), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Apollo Theatre), Women, Power & Politics (Kiln Theatre), Dancing at Lughnasa, The Tutor (The Old Vic), Breathing Corpses (Royal Court Theatre), The Maids (Donmar Warehouse), As You Like It, Mary After The Queen, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, The Art of Success (Royal Shakespeare Company). Her television credits include Archie, The Tower, The Virtues, Silent Witness, New Tricks, Best of Men, Henry IV, Lewis, Midsomer Murders, Fallen Angel, The Last Detective, The Last Detective, Too Good to be True, State of Mind, Always and Everyone, Little Bird, Colour Blind, Heartbeat, Trauma, A Marriage of Inconvenience, Chalkface, Jeeves and Wooster, Poirot, and Angel Train; and for film, Four Mothers, In the Land of Saints and Sinners, Unwelcome, The Ghoul, Testament of Youth, Five Minutes of Heaven, The Closer you Get, Playboys, In Love With Alma Cogan, Hereafter, A Shadow of the Sun, Paris by Night, Lucky Sunil, and Fools of Fortune.
Kasper Hilton-Hille plays Henry. He graduated from Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama this summer.
Ruby Stokes makes her professional stage debut in That Face, playing Mia. Her television credits include The Burning Girls, Lockwood & Co, Bridgerton, Da Vinci’s Demons, Not Going Out and, for film, Rocks and Una.
Dominic Mafham plays Hugh. His theatre credits include Still Alice (West Yorkshire Playhouse), King Lear (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare’s Globe, US and China tour), King John (Rose Theatre), Linda (Royal Court Theatre), 66 Books – A response to Daniel (Bush Theatre), Journey’s End (Duke of York’s Theatre and UK tour), Nabokov’s Gloves (Hampstead Theatre), The Pretenders, All’s Well That Ends Well, Antony and Cleopatra, Oliver!, and Edward II (Royal Shakespeare Company). His television credits include Vigil, The Chelsea Detective, You and Me, Coronation Street (as series regular Henry Thorne), Grantchester, Miss Scarlet and The Duke, Killing Eve, W1A, The Strike Series: The Silkworm, Father Brown;and for film, Golda, Doom: Annihilation, Backdraft 2, and Ophelia.
Sarita Gabony plays Izzy. Her theatre credits include Common: A Trilogy Workshop (National Theatre Studio), James IV: Queen of the Fight (National Theatre of Scotland), Our Generation (Chichester Festival Theatre, National Theatre), Deciphering (New Diorama Theatre), Love Ugly City, The Treatment, Little Revolution (Almeida Theatre), The Nobodies (Roundhouse), and The Sound of Music (The London Palladium); and for film, Spectrum.
Writer Polly Stenham’s theatre credits include Julie, Hotel (National Theatre), No Quarter, Tusk Tusk, and That Face (Royal Court Theatre) then it transferred to The Duke of York’s Theatre. Her screenwriting credits for film include Neon Demon, and for television Foxtrot.
Director Josh Seymour’stheatre credits include The Narcissist (Chichester Festival Theatre), Musik (Edinburgh Festival/Arts Theatre), Adding Machine (Finborough Theatre) and One Arm (Southwark Playhouse), for which he won Best Director at the 2016 Off-West End Awards.
Josh has worked as Associate/Assistant Director for Dominic Cooke, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke, Lyndsey Turner, Peter Gill, Matthew Warchus, Robert Hastie and Alexander Zeldin.
