Bill Kenwright presents the long-awaited return of Rough Crossing written by Academy, Tony and Olivier award-winning writer Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The Real Thing, Arcadia) and directed by acclaimed director Rachel Kavanaugh (The Wind in the Willows, Half a Sixpence).
The star cast is led by John Partridge, winner of this year’s Celebrity Masterchef. John is best known to TV audiences as the suave and charismatic Christian Clarke in EastEnders. He is one of musical theatre’s most prolific leading men, having played in major West End musical hits such as Chorus Line, Chicago, and in Bill Kenwright’s recent La Cage Aux Folles.
Joining John fresh from Snow White at the London Palladium is one of musical theatre’s brightest upcoming stars, Olivier-award nominee Charlie Stemp, who has triumphed on Broadway starring opposite Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly! and in London in Half a Sixpence. He will play Bert in the 2019 revival of Mary Poppins. They will be joined by West-End star Issy van Randwyck (Fascinating Aïda), comedy TV favourite Matthew Cottle (Game On, The Windsors), Holby City’s Rob Ostlere and Simon Dutton who portrayed Simon Templar in The Saint.
Rough Crossing opens at the Theatre Royal Windsor on 29 January 2019 followed by a nationwide tour visiting: Chichester, Manchester, Bath, Malvern, Guildford, Plymouth, Norwich, Leeds and Cambridge.
Two famous but desperate playwrights are stuck in an ocean liner headed for New York, feverishly trying to rehearse their latest show before reaching land, and opening night. But they are constantly distracted by their delicate composer’s attempts to end it all, having overheard his lover confess her feelings to the leading man.
Add an absurdly unorthodox waiter, a mistimed lifeboat drill and a vanishing glass of brandy and soon the sharp Atlantic winds turn to world-class gales of laughter as these colourful characters become tangled up in a typically Stoppardian string of absurd events.
The creative team is completed by Colin Richmond (Set and Costume), Ben Cracknell (Lighting) and Dan Samson (Sound).
Freely adapted from Fernec Monlár’s Játék A Kastélyban.
LISTINGS
ROUGH CROSSING – BY TOM STOPPARD
28 JANUARY – 13 APRIL 2019
UK TOUR
Website: www.kenwright.com
Windsor Theatre Royal
30 January – 9 February
Theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk
01753 853 888
Chichester Festival Theatre
12 – 16 February
Cft.org.uk
01243 781312
Lowry Theatre, Salford
19 – 23 February
Thelowry.com
0843 208 6000
Bath Theatre Royal
26 – 2 March
Theatreroyal.org.uk
01225 448844
Malvern Theatre
5 – 9 March
Malvern-theatre.co.uk
01684 892277
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
12 – 16 March
Yvonne-arnaud.co.uk
01483 44 00 00
Theatre Royal Plymouth
18 – 23 March
https://www.theatreroyal.co.uk/
0151 709 4776
Norwich Theatre Royal
26 – 30 March
Theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk
01603 63 00 00
Leeds Grand Theatre
2 – 6 April
Leedsgrandtheatre.co.uk
0844 848 2700
Cambridge Arts Theatre
8 – 13 April
cambridgeartstheatre.com
01223 503333