The Devil Inside Him - Media Release

Release Date: 22 March 2010

OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING ACTOR JOINS CAST OF
LOST JOHN OSBORNE PLAY – ‘THE DEVIL INSIDE HIM’

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR NATIONAL THEATRE WALES’ THIRD PRODUCTION

Iwan Rheon, who yesterday won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Role in a Musical for his performance in Spring Awakening, will play Huw Prosser, the prototypical Angry Young Man, in the new production of John Osborne’s lost early play The Devil Inside Him. Also joining the cast are Jamie Ballard, John Cording, Stephen Elliott, Helen Griffin, Derek Hutchinson, Rachel Lumberg and Catrin Stewart.

Following the success of National Theatre Wales’ acclaimed sold-out opening show A Good Night Out in the Valleys, The Devil Inside Him will be the third play in NTW’s opening season, opening at The New Theatre, Cardiff, on 11th May (previews from 6th May).

The Devil Inside Him is the first play that John Osborne wrote to be produced for the stage. Written at the age of eighteen, it predates Look Back in Anger by some six years. The play was staged just twice before Lord Chamberlain, who had the power to censor all plays until 1968, refused to grant it a licence. The play was then thought to be lost, until it was recently discovered in the British Library archive.

The play tells the story of Huw Prosser (Iwan Rheon), a plain-speaking young poet growing up in a deeply conservative Welsh village. The play is set in a boarding house in that village, and sits somewhere between the world of 1950s melodrama and the ground-breaking ‘angry young man’ writing for which Osborne became famous.

Iwan Rheon’s most recent credits include the lead role of Simon in Misfits (Channel 4), and the West End musical Spring Awakening, for which he won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Role in a Musical/Entertainment.

Jamie Ballard recently played Hamlet in Jonathan Miller’s acclaimed production at the Tobacco Factory, Bristol. His most recent credits include Troilus and Cressida (Globe), Some Trace of Her, War Horse, Saint Joan (all NT) and Much Ado About Nothing (RSC).

The production will be directed by Elen Bowman. Bowman is one of the most highly respected directors in Wales. Her work has won numerous awards and she taught direction techniques to Katie Mitchell and Ian Rickson among many others. Bowman lives and works in Wales, holding the post of artistic associate at Sherman Cymru Theatre in Cardiff.

Designer Alex Eales trained at Wimbledon School of Art, graduating in 1997. Previous designs include Moll Flanders (KAOS Theatre, National Tour), Still Life (Drum Theatre Plymouth), The Country (Belgrade Theatre at Warwick Arts Centre) and Serious Money (Cambridge Arts Theatre). He was Costume Designer for Iron (Traverse) at the Edinburgh Festival 2002, which transferred to the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs in February 2003 and Leipzig Shauspeil, Germany in March 2003.

John Osborne launched a revolution in British theatre when his play Look Back in Anger opened at the Royal Court Theatre in May 1956. One of the original Angry Young Men, Osborne is credited with creating the ‘Kitchen Sink’ genre of social realism in theatre, which gave rise to playwrights such as John Arden, David Storey and Arnold Wesker. His other plays include The Entertainer, A Patriot For Me, Inadmissable Evidence and Luther.

Production sponsored by First Great Western.

LISTINGS INFORMATION
6 – 15 May 2010
Tue – Sat, 7.30pm
Thur & Sat, 2.30pm
Sun, 4pm

New Theatre
Park Place
Cardiff, CF10 3LN

Tickets from £5.00
Tel. 02920 878 889

Tickets are available now, from the venue (http://www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk) and from http://nationaltheatrewales.org

Notes to editors

The establishment of an English language national theatre company for Wales was a commitment in the Welsh Assembly Government's One Wales programme. The Welsh Assembly Government and The Arts Council of Wales are supporting National Theatre Wales with funding of £3 million over three years.

National Theatre Wales creates invigorating theatre in the English language, rooted in Wales, with an international reach.

For more information on National Theatre Wales’ shows visit: http://nationaltheatrewales.org