With Richard Bean’s Toast, starring Matthew Kelly, set to open in Park200, Park Theatre Artistic Director Jez Bond announces the full cast for the first London revival of David Hare’s The Vertical Hour. Joining Peter Davison and Thusitha Jayasundera will be Cameron Cuffe in the role of Dennis Dutton, Pepter Lunkuse as Terri and Finlay Robertson as Philip. The play, which received its UK premiere at the Royal Court in 2008, will be directed by Nigel Douglas and opens on 25 September, with previews from 23 September, running until 26 October.
Nadia Blye knows exactly what her stance is on Iraq. A former war reporter and Professor of International Relations at Yale, she has advised the President and seen action in Sarajevo and Baghdad. She is sure of her place in the world and her opinion of it.
Until, that is, she meets an equally opinionated and lethally charming man – her boyfriend’s father – over a weekend in Shropshire. His intervention has far-reaching consequences for them all.
A gripping play that pits personal philosophies against global politics.
Cameron Cuffe plays Dennis Dutton. He graduated from the Lir Academy in July and this is his first professional stage role.
Peter Davison plays Oliver. His theatre credits include Legally Blonde – The Musical (Savoy Theatre),Spamalot (Palace Theatre), Under the Doctor (Comedy Theatre), Chicago (Adelphi Theatre), Dial M for Murder (UK tour), An Absolute Turkey (Globe Theatre), The Last Yankee (Young Vic and Duke of York’s Theatre), The Decorator (Yvonne Arnaud and UK tour), Arsenic and Old Lace (Chichester Festival Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Hamlet and Two Gentlemen of Verona (Edinburgh Lyceum). Perhaps best known for his role as The Doctor in Doctor Who, his other television credits include Law and Order, All Creatures Great and Small, At Home with the Braithwaites,Cabbage and Pat, The Queen, Miranda, Distant Shores, The Last Detective, Fear Stress and Anger, The Complete Guide to Parenting and Aint Misbehaving; and for film, Parting Shots, Ghosts of Winterborne,Black Beauty and A Man You Don’t Meet Everyday.
Thusitha Jayasundera plays Nadia. Her theatre credits include The Nine O’Clock Slot (Ice and Fire), Tiger Country (Hampstead Theatre), A Day at the Racists (Finborough Theatre), Dreams of Violence (Out of Joint/Soho Theatre and UK tour), Crime and Punishment, Warhorse and The Caucasian Chalk Circle(National Theatre), Twelfth Night and As I Lay Dying (Young Vic) and The Comedy of Errors, Cain, Peer Gint and Pentecost (RSC). Her TV work includes The Bill (series regular), Holby City (series regular),Broadchurch, The C Word and Above Suspicion.
Pepter Lunkuse plays Terri. Her theatre credits include Antony and Cleopatra (Chichester Festival Theatre). For television, her work includes Exposure: Child Trafficking and Liberian Girl.
Finlay Robertson plays Philip. He is currently appearing in Toast at Park Theatre. His other theatre credits include Strong Arm (one man play with he wrote and performed at Edinburgh Fringe), Casualties (Park Theatre), An Invitation and Hostile Reconnaissance (Soho Theatre), The Night Heron (Royal Court), Speed Death Of The Radiant Child and Blown (Plymouth Drum), Screams From Job (Southwark Playhouse), Ring, Fuel (Battersea Arts Centre), Riot Pilot (Hackney Empire), The Alchemist (Riverside Studios) and Kissing Bingo (Finborough Theatre). For television, his work includes Doctor Who, The Curse of Edgar, Scott & Bailey, Body Farm, Garrow’s Law, How Not to Live Your Life, Persuasion, Life Begins, Robin Hood, Billy the Kid, Survivors, The Golden House, Ny-Lon and Hear the Silence; and for film, Cocknies Vs Zombies, Alfie, F, I Spit on Your Rave, and The Story Of.
David Hare is a playwright and screenwriter. As a playwright his work includes Slag, The Great Exhibition,Brassneck (with Howard Brenton), Knuckle, Fanshen, Teeth ’n ’Smiles, Plenty, A Map Of The World, Pravda(with Howard Brenton), The Bay At Nice, The Secret Rapture, Racing Demon, Murmuring Judges, The Absence Of War, Skylight, Amy’s View, The Blue Room, The Judas Kiss Via Dolorosa, My Zinc Bed, The Breath Of Life, The Permanent Way, Stuff Happens, The Vertical Hour, Gethsemane, Berlin/Wall and The Power Of Yes. His adaptations for theatre include The Rules Of The Game - Pirandello, The Life Of Galileo – Brecht, Mother Courage & Her Children – Brecht, Ivanov -Chekhov, Platonov - Chekhov, The House Of Bernarda Alba - Lorca and Enemies – Gorky.
Nigel Douglas directs. This will be his first theatre work in ten years, having spent a decade in television and film. His theatre work includes A Voyage Round My Father (World’s End Theatre), The Swimming Party(The Man in The Moon). His TV credits include Jackanory, Flip, Grange Hill, The Biz, This Life (BAFTA for Best Drama), London’s Burning, The Blind Date, The Knock, North Square, Clocking Off (BAFTA for Best Drama Series), Making Waves and Wild at Heart.
