Cast announced for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ahead of run at Curve Leicester and tour

Casting has been announced for the upcoming new production of Tennessee Williams Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Directed by Anthony Almeida, the show is a co-production between Leicester’s Curve theatre, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and English Touring Theatre (ETT).

After opening at Curve on 3 September the new revival will then tour across venues in England and Wales.

Siena Kelly, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Award for her role in Channel 4’s Adult Material at this year’s BAFTAs, will play the role of Maggie, with Oliver Johnstone (All My Sons, Old Vic; SkyFall, Eon Productions) as her distant and troubled husband Brick.

Teresa Banham (The Crown, Netflix; Robin Hood, BBC) will appear as Big Mama and Peter Forbes (Follies, National Theatre; Judy, Pathé) will play Big Daddy, the Pollitt family’s vivid patriarch.

Joining the cast as Gooper and his wife Mae are Sam Alexander (The Watsons, Chichester Festival Theatre) and Shanaya Rafaat (Jude, Hampstead Theatre). Suzette Llewellyn (EastEnders, BBC) will play Doctor Baugh, with Minal Patel (A Christmas Carol, Dominion Theatre) as Reverend Tooker.

The roles of the Pollitt family children will be played by local young people at Leicester’s Curve, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and across the tour.

On a sweltering Mississippi night, the lies are as stifling as the heat.

Maggie has fought up from poverty, only to find herself in a passionless, burning marriage. Her husband Brick Pollitt, a former pro footballer, drinks to drown out the hurt he has bottled up inside.

When the entire Pollitt family meet for Big Daddy’s 65th birthday, the claws are out. As shattering truths threaten to spiral out of control, the family set out to protect themselves, and each other, from falling apart.

Following the success of Curve’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire, this bold new revival of Tennessee Williams’ lyrical Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece is a blazing portrayal of what it takes to survive in a society where we’re all desperate to feel free.

The drama will open at Curve 3 – 18 September, before touring to Liverpool Playhouse 22 September – 2 October, Marlowe Theatre 6 – 9 October, The New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich 12 – 16 October, Theatr Clwyd 19 – 23 October, concluding at Mast Mayflower Studios Southampton 26 – 30 October.

Tickets for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof are on sale now. To find out more and book tickets, visit www.curveonline.co.uk

Director Anthony Almeida, winner of the 2019 Royal Theatrical Support Trust (RTST) Sir Peter Hall Director Award, said: “Medea, Hamlet, Hedda Gabler – throughout stage history: a singular heavyweight part headlines our greatest plays. But in his typical swagger, Tennessee Williams tore up the rules: he wrote not just one, but four colossal, enigmatic roles. It’s going to be dynamite to witness these talented actors go head-to-head onstage. This entire cast are electric. I’m excited for us to begin rehearsals.”

The full creative team includes set design by Rosanna Vize, with associate designs and costume designs from Sarah Mercadé, lighting designs by Joshua Gadsby, composition and sound design by Giles Thomas, movement direction by Gemma Payne.

Casting is by Ginner Schiller and the production team is completed by Curve’s Birkbeck Trainee Director Jennifer Lane Baker as Assistant Director, Production Manager Sam Paterson, Company Stage Manager Helen Gaynor, Deputy Stage Manager Robyn Clogg and Assistant Stage Manager Zoe Leonard.