The production of Andrew Keatley’s play continues to run at the Finsbury Park Theatre until the 20th September.
Production images have now been released for the Park Theatre revival of the family drama, which originally premiered at the theatre a decade ago.
Directed by former Royal Shakespeare Company Artistic Director Adrian Noble, the cast includes: Jonathan Hyde (Gently Down The Stream – Olivier Award Nominated) as the domineering patriarch William, Joanne Pearce (Hamlet) his long suffering, yet poised wife, Olivia, Richard Stirling (Cecil Beaton’s Diaries) as the eldest son Samuel, Chris Larkin (Noises Off) as the middle child, Giles, Zoë Waites (Julius Caesar) as Sophie, Giles’ wife, George Lorimer (making his professional stage debut) as their son, Simon and Ella Dale (The Railway Children) as their daughter, Emily. Olivia Vinall (The Circle) will play Alice, the estranged youngest child of William and Olivia, with Taneetrah Porter (Harry Potter and The Cursed Child) as her teenage daughter Aurelia, meeting the family for the first time. The cast is completed by Joe Burrell as a young Samuel and Ellis Elijah (both making their professional stage debuts) as a young Giles.
The Pennington family have not been in the same room for 17 years, yet on the eve of William’s 75th birthday all three generations gather in the hope that the mistakes of the past can be resigned to history.
An errant daughter, an autistic son, and a second son that could never just grasp the nettle; his children have always proved a disappointment to his lofty ambitions. With long-held resentments rising back to the surface, and new problems unexpectedly presenting themselves, any plans of family reconciliation may give way to further turmoil. But William knows he is running out of time to accept his family on their own terms – even if they cannot overlook his own shortcomings in return.
Talking about the production Adrian Noble said; ““I love this play, and I’m thrilled to be bringing The Gathered Leaves to Park Theatre this summer with such a talented cast. It’s set over Easter weekend in 1997 and tells the story of a family coming to terms with their painful past and arriving at a place of forgiveness. The characters are brilliantly drawn. It’s rather special and it is a privilege to work with this ensemble and to share this moving story with audiences in such an intimate space.”
The creative team behind the production also includes: design by Dick Bird, lighting design by Paul Pyant and sound design by Max Pappenheim and casting by Gabrielle Dawes CDG.
To book tickets visit: https://parktheatre.co.uk/events/the-gathered-leaves/