Casting is announced today for the World Premiere of new comedy drama The Retreat, the first play by BAFTA award-winning writer Sam Bain, directed by Kathy Burke, which will play at Park Theatre from Thursday 2 November to Saturday 2 December 2017.
Adam Deacon will play Tony, Samuel Anderson will play Luke and Yasmine Akram will play Tara.
Adam Deacon (Tony) is best known for playing the lead role of Jay in films Kidulthood and Adulthood, and for his directorial debut Anuvahood, in which he also starred, for which he won the BAFTA Rising Star Award. Adam has since appeared in feature films including Bonded by Blood, Jack Falls, Shank, Everywhere and Nowhere and Payback Season, with television work including Babylon (Channel 4), Inside No. 9 (BBC Two) and Being Human (BBC Three). Adam has also worked with mental health charity MIND and recently filmed a documentary with Stephen Fry for the BBC.
Samuel Anderson (Luke) is perhaps best known for playing Danny Pink in the eighth series of BBC’s Doctor Who, and Daniel in the Sky1 sitcom Trollied. Other television work includes Ross Kirk in Emmerdale (ITV), Totally Frank (Channel 4), Moving On (BBC One) and Loaded (Channel 4). On stage, Samuel originated the role of Crowther in the National Theatre production of The History Boys, subsequently playing the role on Broadway and all over the world.
Yasmine Akram (Tara) has starred as Janine in the hit BBC show Sherlock, Jonesy in Netflix’s Lovesick, and has been a series regular in shows including Stella (Sky1), Undercover (Dave), Asylum (BBC) and Unforgotten (ITV). As a writer, Yasmine co-wrote and starred in two series of Irish Micks and Legends for BBC Radio 4, her film A Date for Mad Mary won the Irish Film and Television Award for Best Film in 2017, and she recently completed filming her first short film War Paint, funded by Creative England, in which she also stars.
The Retreat follows Luke, a former high-flyer from the City, as he sits in a remote stone hut halfway up a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. He is on a meditation retreat, searching for the inner peace that so far has eluded him. The trouble is, not only will his mind not settle, but an uninvited guest arrives – his obnoxious older brother Tony. Is Tony everything that’s wrong with Luke’s old life, or is he the only one who can really see into his soul? And is Luke’s quest for spirituality a way of transforming himself, or is it just another form of addiction? The Retreat is a sharp new comedy drama about a world where we can never escape ourselves, or find ourselves either.
The Retreat is written by Sam Bain, who with Jesse Armstrong has co-created and co-written nine series of the Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show, winning BAFTA, British Comedy, Royal Television Society and Writers Guild of Great Britain Awards. Sam is also co-creator of Channel 4 comedy drama Fresh Meat which ran for four series and won a British Comedy Award. Film writing includes Four Lions, co-written with Chris Morris, which premiered at Sundance and won the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut. Sam’s first solo series Ill Behaviour premiered on BBC iPlayer this Summer before being broadcast on BBC Two.
The Retreat is directed by Kathy Burke, who as an actor is well known for television work including Ab Fab, Harry Enfield and Chums and Gimme Gimme Gimme, for which she won a British Comedy Award. Film work includes Absolutely Fabulous the Movie, Pan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Nil By Mouth, for which she won Best Actress at Cannes. Work as a theatre director includes Betty (Vaudeville Theatre), Kosher Harry (Royal Court), Out in the Open and Born Bad (Hampstead Theatre), Blue/Orange (Sheffield Crucible), The God of Hell (Donmar Warehouse), Smaller (Lyric Theatre) and The Quare Fellow and Once a Catholic (Tricycle Theatre).
The Retreat is written by Sam Bain and directed by Kathy Burke. Set and Costume Design is by Paul Wills with Lighting Design by Paul Keogan and Sound Design by John Leonard. It is produced by Debbie Hicks and Jesse Romain in association with Park Theatre.