The production based on Leo Tolstoy‘s novel begins performances at the Crucible Theatre on the 5th February.
Directed by Sheffield Theatres’ RTYDS Associate Artistic Director Anthony Lau, it has been announced that the cast for the production will include: Isis Davis playing Dolly(This Is Who I Am!), Nick Fletcherplaying Karenin(The Deep Blue Sea), Solomon Israelplaying Stiva (Barber Shop Chronicles), Chris Jenksplaying Count Vronsky(Sex Education), Adelle Leonceplaying Anna(Emilia), Douggie McMeekinplaying Levin(Chernobyl), Sarah Seggari playing Princess Betsy (Comedy Of Errors) and Tara Tijani playing Kitty (Gone Too Far). All of the cast are making their debut at the Crucible.
Admired but unfulfilled, Russian socialite Anna is faced with a choice – remain with her husband to keep her beloved child, or risk ruin in the pursuit of passion.How do we choose to live the one life we have?
Talking about the production, Anthony Lau said: “Anna Karenina is the first Crucible production of the 2022 50th anniversary season year and we’re incredibly excited to share this well-known epic. It’s a play about choice, happiness and the pursuit of love – a universal narrative boldly reimagined to speak to a modern audience. The world may have changed since Anna first filled our hearts, but the story is no less complex or human. It is familiar and surprising and so full of the passions and anguishes of living.”
Leo Tolstoy’s novel has been adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson, with the creative team behind this new production including: designs by Georgia Lowe, lighting design by Jack Knowles, sound design by Alexandra Faye Braithwaite, movement direction by Chi-San Howard, casting direction by Jacob Sparrow and assistant direction by Nadia Emam.
Anna Karenina plays at the Crucible Theatre from the 5th to the 26th February.