A new stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘North by Northwest’ is set to premiere this March.
The production, adapted by Emma Rice, will open at York Theatre Royal on March 26, with previews from March 18.
The show will then tour across the UK, playing at the likes of HOME Manchester, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Bath Theatre Royal, and Everyman Theatre Cheltenham before concluding at London’s Alexandra Palace Theatre on June 22.
The cast includes Mirabelle Gremaud as Anna, Patrycja Kujawska as Eva Kendall, Simon Oskarsson as Valerian, Katy Owen as The Professor, Karl Queensborough as Philip Vandamm, and Ewan Wardrop as Roger Thornhill.
The play is a co-production with York Theatre Royal, HOME Manchester, and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse.
The story follows Roger Thornhill, who, due to a mistimed phone call to his mother, is mistaken for somebody else and landed “smack bang in the middle” of a Cold War conspiracy.
He finds himself on the run, evading spies, aeroplanes, and “a femme fatale who might not be all she seems.”
The production, based on the Hitchcock-directed 1959 film, is described as a “riotously funny reworking” of the original thriller.
It has been produced by special arrangement with Warner Bros Theatre Ventures and Kay & McLean Productions.
The production features a 1950s soundtrack and a cast of six performers playing multiple roles – as well as “a LOT of hats.”
Ms Rice is at the helm of the production.
As the artistic director of Wise Children, she has adapted and directed ‘The Buddha of Suburbia,’ ‘Blue Beard,’ ‘The Little Matchgirl and Happier Tales,’ ‘Wuthering Heights,’ and more.
As artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe, in London, Ms Rice was involved in productions of the likes of ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’
She has also worked for Kneehigh as an actor, director, and artistic director, creating productions including ‘The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk,’ ‘946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips,’ ‘Cymbeline’ (in association with the RSC), ‘A Matter of Life and Death’ (in association with National Theatre), ‘The Wild Bride,’ ‘The Red Shoes,’ ‘Brief Encounter’ (in association with David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers Productions), ‘Don John’ (in association with the RSC and Bristol Old Vic), ‘Wah! Wah! Girls’ (in association with Sadler’s Wells and Theatre Royal Stratford East for World Stages), and ‘Steptoe and Son.’
She received the Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre award at the 2019 UK Theatre Awards.
The creative team for ‘North by Northwest’ includes set and costume designer Rob Howell, sound designer Simon Baker, lighting designer Malcolm Rippeth, choreographer and movement director Etta Murfitt, and creative consultant Mark Kaufman.
