Cast & Creative
Mark Strong
Oedipus
Multi-award-winning actor Mark Strong returns to the stage. He previously appeared in A View from the Bridge directed by Ivo Van Hove (Young Vic, West End and Broadway – Olivier and Critics Circle Awards for Best Actor and Tony Award nomination); The Red Barn, Patrick Marber’s Closer, Death of a Salesman, Murmuring Judges, Fuente Ovejuna, Napoli Milionaria, King Lear and Richard III (National Theatre); Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya (Donmar Warehouse – Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor); Speed the Plow (New Ambassadors Theatre); The Iceman Cometh (Almeida Theatre); The Thickness of Skin and The Treatment (Royal Court Theatre); Hess is Dead, The Plantagenets and The Man Who Came To Dinner (RSC).
His television credits include Temple (also series Executive Producer); Deep State; Low Winter Sun; The Long Firm (Broadcast Guild Award for Best Actor and BAFTA nomination); Prime Suspect; The Jury; Anna Karenina; Our Friends in the North and the forthcoming Dune: Prophecy and The Penguin with Colin Farrell (HBO) as well as 9 Perfect Strangers (Hulu/Amazon).
An acclaimed film actor, he recently appeared in The Critic with Ian McKellen; Dead Shot with Felicity Jones; Nocebo with Eva Green; Murder Mystery 2 with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston (Netflix) and in The End We Start From with Jodie Comer; Shadow Force opposite Omar Sy and Kerry Washington and Atlas opposite Jennifer Lopez.
His other film credits include Todd Field’s Tar with Cate Blanchett; Sam Mendes’ 1917; Miss Sloane with Jessica Chastain; Cruella alongside Emma Stone; The Imitation Game with Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley; The Kingsman films with Taron Egerton and Colin Firth; Before I Go To Sleep with Nicole Kidman; Thomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with Gary Oldman; Peter Weir’s The Way Back; John Michael McDonagh’s The Guard; Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood with Russell Crowe; Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law; Martin Campbell’s Green Lantern; The Young Victoria opposite Emily Blunt; Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty; Danny Boyle’s Sunshine; Stephen Gaghan’s Syriana with George Clooney; Roman Polanski’s Oliver Twist and Thomas Vinterberg’s It’s All About Love.
Lesley Manville
JOCASTA
Lesley Manville is a multi awarding winning stage, film and television actress.
Her recent theatre has included GHOSTS (Almeida, West End and BAM New York) for which she won a Best Actress Olivier Award and Critics Circle Award. She also received Best Actress Olivier nominations for LONG DAYS JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (Bristol Old Vic, Wyndhams, BAM New York and LA) and GRIEF (National Theatre). Other recent theatre includes THE VISIT at the National Theatre and TALKING HEADS at The Bridge.
Her early career was dominated by work at the Royal Court Theatre working on new plays including TOP GIRLS, SERIOUS MONEY, RITA, SUE AND BOB TOO and BORDERLINE as well as classics such as THREE SISTERS, THE POPES WEDDING and SAVED. For the RSC, LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES, AS YOU LIKE IT, THE PHILISTINES and THE WIVES EXCUSE. For the National Theatre, HIS DARK MATERIALS, PILLARS OF THE COMMUNITY, HER NAKED SKIN and THE ALCHEMIST. For The Old Vic, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER and SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION. In the West End, THE CHERRY ORCHARD and SOME GIRLS.
Lesley received an Academy Award Best Supporting Actress and BAFTA nomination for her role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s film PHANTOM THREAD. She played the title role in MRS HARRIS GOES TO PARIS for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. She has worked extensively with director Mike Leigh. Most notably on ANOTHER YEAR for which she won the prestigious NBR Best Actress Award, The Critics Circle Award and also received BAFTA and BIFA nominations. Other films with Mike Leigh are ALL OR NOTHING (Critics Circle Best Actress Award), TOPSY-TURVY, MR TURNER, HIGH HOPES, SECRETS AND LIES, VERA DRAKE and GROWN UPS. Other films include, BACK TO BLACK, THE CRITIC, ORDINARY LOVE, LET HIM GO, MISBEHAVIOUR and MALIFICENT 1&2. Films still to be released include Luca Guadagnino’s QUEER, COLD STORAGE, WINTER OF THE CROW, MIDWINTER BREAK and MR BURTON.
Lesleys extensive television career has seen her work on many highly acclaimed and awarding winning shows. For her role as Princess Margaret in the final 2 seasons of THE CROWN, Lesley has received a Primetime Emmy and BAFTA nomination. SHERWOOD won her a BAFTA Supporting Actress nomination as did RIVER. She did 3 series of the BBC’s MUM which won her an RTS Comedy Performance Award and 2 BAFTA nominations. Other TV includes, CITADEL, MAGPIE MURDERS, I AM MARIA, HARLOTS, SAVE ME TOO, TALKING HEADS, WORLD ON FIRE, NORTH AND SOUTH, CRANFORD and OTHER PEOPLES’ CHILDREN and BODILY HARM, receiving RTS Best Actress nominations for both. TV to come includes Alfonso Cuarón’s DISCLAIMER, MOONFLOWER MURDERS, CITADEL 2 and Ryan Murphy’s GROTESQUERIE.
Lesley was appointed an OBE in 2015 and promoted to CBE in 2021.
Samuel Brewer
Teiresias
Training: Royal Central School of Speech & Drama. Theatre includes: It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure (Soho Theatre/New Diorama Theatre/Soho Playhouse/UK Tour/Southbank Centre); Frankenstein (Parkwood Theatre); CRIPtic Pit Party (Barbican Theatre); Farenheit 451 (Complicité). Other work includes: Odd & The Frost Giants (Unicorn Theatre); Otto Weidt’s Brush and Broom (Leeds Playhouse); The Sleeping Sword (Watermill Theatre). Sam is one of the Artistic Directors of FlawBored, where he co-created their debut show, It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure, which won the Untapped Award, and went on to be selected as one of the Fringe Five before touring internationally.
Michael Gould
Creon
Theatre includes: The Cherry Orchard (Donmar Warehouse); King Lear; The Writer (Almeida Theatre); Pygmalion (Old Vic); The Audience (West End); A View from the Bridge (West End and Broadway); Hamlet; The Jungle; (Young Vic); Kerry Jackson; All of Us; Anna; Our Class; Women of Troy; Waves; The Seagull; Earthquakes in London; The Oresteia; (National Theatre); The Merchant of Venice; Swive; (Shakespeare’s Globe); The Ugly One (Royal Court); Dealing with Clair (Orange Tree Theatre); The Phoenician Women; Othello; The Theban Trilogy (RSC). Television includes: I Am Maria (Channel 4); There She Goes; Showtrial; You Don’t Know Me; Black Earth Rising (BBC). Film includes: One Life; Darkest Hour; Rogue One; Undergods; The Duke.
Sara Hazemi
Lichas/Understudy Antigone
Theatre Includes: English (Kiln Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company); Half-Empty Glasses (Rose Theatre, Paines Plough Roundabout); The Ultimate Pickle (Rose Theatre, Paines Plough Roundabout); A Sudden Violent Burst of Rain (The Gate Theatre); Tales from Hans Christian Anderson (Guildford Shakespeare Company), Oedipus at Colonus (Cambridge Arts Theatre) Television includes: The Crown (Left Bank Pictures/Netflix); The Cockfields (Yellow Door Productions); This is Going to Hurt (BBC). Other Work includes: Fugue (Short Film); Benson (Short Film).
Gary McDonald
Driver
Theatre includes: Hardtime Pressure (Royal Court Theatre); Heroes Welcome (Royal Court Theatre); Gregory Motton’s Downfall (Royal Court Theatre); Some Singing Blood (Royal Court Theatre); Been so Long (Royal Court theatre); A Raisin in the Sun (Kiln Theatre); The Importance of Being Earnest (The Tyne Theatre/Bloomsbury Theatre); Macbeth (National Theatre); Black Poppies (National Theatre); Great Big Shame (Theatre Royal Stratford East); Leonardo in Blood Wedding (National Theatre); The Trader in Market Boy (National Theatre); Lobby Hero (Donmar Warehouse/New Ambassadors Theatre); Headmaster Marrow in Choir Boy (Royal Court); Sitting in Limbo (Watford Palace Theatre). Television includes: London’s Burning pilot; EastEnders; Valentine Falls; Thief Takers; Brothers and Sisters; Dreamteam (Sky One); Numb3rs; Airforce One is Down Film includes: Shooting Stars; Secrets and Lies; All or Nothing; Until Death; The Shepard; Airforce One is Down; Outpost – Black Sun; Lapse of Honour
Bhasker Patel
Corin
Theatre includes: Silence; The Vote (Donmar Warehouse); Anthony and Cleopatr (Liverpool Playhouse); A Map of the World; Nation; The Royal Hunt of the Sun; Tartuffe; Wicked Yaar; The Magic Carpet; Playing with Fire (Royal National Theatre); Blood; The Great Celestial Cow (Royal Court); Timon of Athens (Young Vic); The Comedy of Errors (Bolton Octogan); A Passage to India (Farnham Redgrave); Passing (Park Theatre); MacBeth (New York International Theatre Festival). Television includes: Emmerdale; Coronation Street; Dirty Filthy Love; Jewel in the Crown; Crown Court; A&E (ITV/Granada); Doctor Who; The Garden; Spooks; Holby City; My Family; Murder in Mind; Only Fools & Horses; Birds of a Feather; Casualty; The Scarlet Pimpernel; Moving On (BBC), Brookside (Channel 4). Film includes: Drachenfutter (CIVIS Award – Best Actor/ Germany); Snowden; Octopussy; Goldeneye; Being Human with Robin Williams; Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom; Kidulthood; Anuvahood Someotherhood; Hanif Kureishi’s My Son the Fanatic; Wild West; Thunderbirds (Working Title); Twin Town; My Beautiful Launderette.
Phia Saban
Antigone
Training: Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Credits while training include: Amanda in Private Lives; Nina in The Seagull; Ollie in Pomona; W in Cock; Cassandra in The Trojan Women; Iago in Othello; The Girl in The Wheel; Antigone in Antigone. Television includes: Helaena Targaryen in House of the Dragon (HBO); Aelfwynn in The Last Kingdom (Netflix/Carnival Films).
Jordan Scowen
Eteocles
Training: LAMDA. Theatre includes: Darkin in The History Boys (Wolverhampton Grand Theatre). Television includes: Robert Tipton in Belgravia: The Next Chapter (MGM/Carnivals drama); Sgt John Shaffer in Masters of the Air (Apple TV+); Ringo Starr in Urban Myths (SKY); Home (Channel 4). Film includes: Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans (BBC Films).
June Watson
Merope
Theatre includes: The Cherry Orchard; A Doll’s House, Part 2 (Donmar Warehouse); Sea Creatures; Uncle Vanya; Good People (Hamsptead Theatre); As You Like It (@Sohoplace); After Life; The Welkin; John; Scenes from the Big Picture; The Good Hope; Our Lady of Sligo; Cardiff East; The Prince’s Play; Le Cid; Rutherford and Son; Machinal; Billy Liar; Whale; Garden of England; As I Lay Dying; The Beggar’s Opera; Lark Rise; The Passion; The World Turned Upside Down; The Long Voyage Home; Il Campiello; State of the Revolution (National Theatre); Road; Kosher Harry; Beside Herself; Saved; Small Change; Life Price; Glasshouses (Royal Court Theatre); Escaped Alone (Royal Court Theatre/ BAM/ UK tour); The Father; Mrs Lowry and Son (Trafalgar Studios); The Cripple of Inishmaan – Clarence Derwent Award (Noël Coward Theatre/ Broadway); Before the Party, Hippolytus (Almeida Theatre); Uncle Vanya (Vaudeville Theatre); Calendar Girls (UK tour); Another Door Closed (Theatre Royal Bath); Aristo (Chichester Festival Theatre); The Children’s Hour (Royal Exchange Theatre); Smaller; Middle Aged Spread (Lyric West End); Mary Stuart (Apollo Theatre); Talking to Terrorists; Sliding with Suzanne (Royal Court/Out of Joint); Romeo & Juliet (RSC); Streetcar to Tennessee (Young Vic); Blue Heart (Out of Joint); Coriolanus; The Winter’s Tale; The Wars of the Roses (English Shakespeare Company); Ballroom (Theatre Royal Stratford East) and Waiting for the Parade (Lyric Hammersmith). Television includes: Whitstable Pearl; The Cockfields; All Creatures Great and Small; Casualty; The Midnight Gang; Chernobyl; Call the Midwife; To Walk Invisible; Agatha Raisin; Thirteen; Unforgotten; A Song for Jenny; Holby City; The Café; Doctors; Wallander; Law and Order UK; Coming Up; Above Suspicion; New Tricks; Hancock and Joan; The Bill; The Street; Billy Goat’s Gruff; City of Vice; Clapham Junction; Wedding Belles; The Time of Your Life; Strictly Confidential; In Denial of Murder; The Key; Willian & Mary; Midsomer Murders; Brotherly Love; Thursday 12th; In A Land of Plenty; Where the Heart Is; Berkeley Square; Kavanagh QC and A Mug’s Game. Film includes: Your Christmas or Mine; The Bike Thief; The Death of Stalin; The Lady in the Van; Ghost Hunter; 102 Dalmatians; Highlander IV: Endgame; The Last Yellow; The Knowledge and Bloody Kids.
James Wilbraham
Polyneices
Training: Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Credits whilst training includes: Den in The Electric; Sebastien in All That I AM; Feste/Student in Twelfth Night Remembered; Angelo in Measure for Measure; Captain Brice in Arcadia. Theatre includes: Ikaria (UK Tour). Television includes: Tom Jones (Mammoth Screen for ITV); SAS Rogue Heroes (Kudos); In My Skin (Expectation for BBC); Ordinary Lies (BBC); Pobol y Cwm (BBC Wales); Gwaith/Cartref (Fiction Factory).
Jim Creighton
Ensemble/Understudy Oedipus & Creon
Theatre includes: The Suspicions of Mr.Whicher (Watermill Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Guildford Shakespeare Company); Good (Harold Pinter Theatre); The Importance of Being Earnest (Watermill Theatre); The Best Man (The Playhouse Theatre/UK Tour); Macbeth (Theatre Severn); An Enemy of the People (Chichester Festival Theatre); The Wars of the Roses (Rose Theatre Kingston); Journey’s End (Watermill Theatre); The Silver Tassie (National Theatre); Richard III (Nottingham Playhouse); Desire Under the Elms (Lyric Hammersmith); Flare Path (Theatre Royal Haymarket); The Tempest (Theatre Royal Haymarket); 1936 (Arcola theatre); Cyrano de Bergerac (Chichester Festival Theatre); Fram (National Theatre); Loot (Tricycle Theatre); The Entertainer (Old Vic) Market Boy (National theatre); On the Middle Day (Old Vic); The Royal Hunt of the Sun (National theatre); Brand (Royal Shakespeare Company); The Merchant of Venice (National Theatre/Royal Shakespeare Company); Three Sisters (Chichester Festival Theatre); Money (National Theatre); Summerfolk (National Theatre); Troilus & Cressida (National Theatre); Peter Pan (National Theatre); An Enemy of the People (National Theatre); Skylight (National Theatre); Three Tall Women (Wyndham’s Theatre). Television includes: EastEnders; The Curse; The Crown; Bulletproof; The Child in Time; Grantchester; Apple Tree Yard; WPC 56; Doctors; The Hour; Holby City; King Lear; Ashes to Ashes; The Merchant of Venice.
Derek Elroy
Ensemble/Understudy Corin, Teiresias, Driver
Training: Rose Bruford College. Theatre includes: One Man Two Governors (The National Theatre/Theatre royal Haymarket/National tour Nick Hytner); Kingston 14 (Theatre Royal Stratford East); Calendar Girls – The Musical (UK tour); Grim Tales (Dukes Play House); Wind in The Willows (Rose Theatre Kingston); Grenfell: Value Engineering scenes from the Inquiry (Birmingham Repertory Theatre); Christmas in the Sunshine (Unicorn Theatre). Television includes: Hope and Glory (BBC); Fortitude (Tiger Aspect); Casualty (BBC) If… (BBC) Rev (Big Talk Productions); The Bill (London Weekend Television). Film includes: Breakfast on Pluto (Pluto Films); Bridget Jones Diary (Working Title).
Celia Nelson
Ensemble/Understudy Jocasta & Merope
Training: The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Theatre includes: Dear Octopus (National Theatre); The House of Bernarda Alba (The National Theatre); The Doctor (Richmond Theatre/The Duke of York’s Theatre); Virtual Reality (The Stephen Joseph Theatre); Private Lives (The Stephen Joseph Theatre); Broken Glass (Theatre Royal Northampton); Saints Day (The Orange Tree); Lady Windermere’s Fan (Salisbury Playhouse); Blithe Spirit (Salisbury Playhouse); The Animals (Dublin Festival); Big Fella (Dublin Festival); Tartuffe (Perth Rep); Having a Ball (Perth Rep); Blithe Spirit (Perth Rep); Loot (UK tour); The Rehearsal (Pitlochry Festival Theatre); A Flea in Her Ear (Pitlochry Festival Theatre); Joking Apart (Pitlochry Festival Theatre); La Vie de Boheme (Pitlochry Festival Theatre); Vanity Fair (Sherman Theatre); Spokesong (Sherman Theatre); A Streetcar Named Desire (Sherman Theatre); The Playboy of the Western World (The Torch/Milford Haven); Hard Times (The Torch/Milford Haven); Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (The Torch/Milford Haven); Turn the Old Year Go (The Torch/Milford Haven); Sticks and Stones (The Old Red Lion).
Television includes: The Bill; Slap; Telephone Detectives.
Radio includes: The Archers (BBC Radio 4).
Jake Rory
Ensemble/Understudy Polyneices, Eteocles & Lichas
Training: Arts Educationals’ (BA Acting). Credits while training include: Macbeth in Macbeth; Edward in The Voysey Inheritance; Val in Orpheus Descending; Lopakin in The Cherry Orchard; Captain Chen in Qibla.Robert Icke
Writer and Director
Robert Icke is an award-winning writer and director, working in theatre and on screen. His recent productions include Judas, Children of Nora, and Oedipus at International Theater Amsterdam, where until 2023 he was Ibsen Artist in Residence. His adaptation of Animal Farm played an extensive national tour in 2022 and is slated for a London transfer. His monologue condensation of Enemy of the People starred Ann Dowd at Park Avenue Armory and was one of the first new pieces of theatre to play in New York post the shutdown. He is directing Ian McKellen in Player Kings at the Noël Coward Theatre, 1 April – 22 June 2024, previewing in Wimbledon and Manchester from March. In six years at the Almeida, five of his productions transferred to the West End, and four to New York. These included his adaptations of The Wild Duck, Mary Stuart (also West End and National tour), Uncle Vanya, Oresteia (also West End; Schauspiel Stuttgart; Park Avenue Armory), and 1984 (co-created with Duncan Macmillan, also Broadway; West End; national and international tours). As a director, his productions included Hamlet (also West End; Park Avenue Armory; and broadcast on BBC2); The Fever and Mr Burns. His final production at the Almeida was The Doctor, which played last summer at Park Avenue Armory, in the West End in 2022, and remains in repertoire at both the Burgtheater in Vienna and Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, as well as in numerous new productions across the globe. His awards include two Evening Standard ‘Best Director’ Awards; the Critics’ Circle Award, the Kurt Hübner Award (for his debut production in Germany); and the Olivier Award for ‘Best Director’, of which he was the youngest ever winner. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.