Casting has been announced for the Old Vic production of Alan Ayckbourn’s comic trilogy, The Norman Conquests. Directed by Matthew Warchus, the cast includes Amelia Bullmore, Jessica Hynes, Stephen Mangan, Ben Miles, Paul Ritter and Amanda Root.
Bullmore will play Norman’s wife, Ruth. Her stage credits include The Thickness of Skin, Road, The Queen and I, Inadmissable Evidence and View from the Bridge.
Hynes will play Annie, Norman’s sister-in-law. She was nominated for an Olivier Award for her performance in The Night Heron and has also been seen on stage in The Plough and the Stars and Fiddler on the Roof.
Mangan will star as Norman. His theatre credits include The People Are Friendly, Noises Off, Hayfever, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing and School for Scandal. He is also known for playing Guillame Secretan on the popular series Green Wing.
Mills will play Tom. He was recently seen on stage in My Child and Richard II. Other stage credits include Hand in Hand to the Promised Land, The Cherry Orchard, The London Cuckolds and Mary Stuart. He also appeared as Patrick on Coupling.
Ritter will play Norman’s brother-in-law, Reg. His theatre credits include The Hothouse, Royal Hunt of the Sun, Coram Boy, The Coast of Utopia, The Night Heron and The Snake in the Grass.
Root will play Sarah, Reg’s wife. Her stage credits include Enemies and Conversations After a Burial, The Plough and the Stars and a number of productions at the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Structurally innovative and intricate as per the Ayckbourn norm, The Norman Conquests follows the same six characters in the same English country house from Saturday morning to Monday evening. For this engagement, the Vic auditorium will be transformed into an in-the-round space so as to better suit Table Manners, Living Together and Round and Round the Garden, as the plays are individually titled.
The Norman Conquests will feature scenic design by Rob Howell, sound design by Simon Baker, lighting design by David Howe and music by Gary Yershon. Performances begin at the Old Vic on September 11, 2008.