Further casting has been announced for Apologia, which will begin previews on 29th July at Trafalgar Studios. Freema Agyeman will join previously announced Tony and Emmy award winner Stockard Channing in a new production of Olivier Award winner Alexi Kaye Campbell’s darkly funny and haunting play about family and its secrets, directed by the multi-award winning Jamie Lloyd.
Freema Agyeman, one of the UK’s most exciting young actors, has made waves on both sides of the Atlantic. She stars as Amanita in Netflix’s critically acclaimed hit drama Sense8. She starred as the much–loved Martha Jones alongside David Tennant’s Doctor Who, and in the hugely successful spin-off Torchwood. She also starred in the UK version of Law and Order.
Agyeman says: “I am absolutely overjoyed to be joining the cast of Apologia. It’s right up my street and had me roaring with laughter! It’s fun. It’s clever. It’s deeply insightful. And I feel I couldn’t be in safer, more experienced hands for my theatre debut than those of Alexi Kaye Campbell and Jamie Lloyd. Or in better company than the inimitable Stockard Channing!”
Kristen Miller (Channing) is a firebrand liberal matriarch and eminent art historian. A birthday gathering should be a cause for celebration but the cracks in her family relationships are brought to the surface by the recent publication of her memoir. As the darkly funny evening progresses, secrets emerge about the sacrifices she has made and about the price paid by those she loves.
Agyeman takes on the role of Claire, the actress girlfriend of Kristin’s son. Also announced are Olivier nominated Desmond Barrit and Joseph Millson. Barrit plays Hugh, Kristin’s longtime friend and ally, while Millson takes on dual roles as both of Kristin’s very different sons. A remarkable double.
Barrit’s many illustrious stage credits include several Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre productions, and Sir Peter Hall’s critically acclaimed Henry IV Parts I and II, for which his performance as Falstaff earned him an Olivier nomination for Best Actor. Millson is a prolific stage and screen actor, best known for his recent TV work on the BBC’s hit primetime shows The Last Kingdom and Banished. He has also worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre.
Apologia will see Channing performing in the West End for the first time in over a decade. Channing’s hugely popular film and TV credits include starring roles in The West Wing, The Good Wife, her Oscar® and Golden Globe nominated role in Six Degrees of Separation, and the iconic role of Rizzo in the film Grease. An acclaimed Broadway and West End star, Channing’s most recent performances on Broadway, It’s Only a Play and Other Desert Cities (a “peerless” performance – NY Times, for which she was nominated for her seventh Tony Award), have affirmed her position as a true theatrical legend.
Apologia follows Olivier Award winning Alexi Kaye Campbell’s critical success with The Pride and his acclaimed plays Sunset at The Villa Thalia at the National Theatre and The Faith Machine at the Royal Court Theatre.
This production marks the return to the Trafalgar Studios of Jamie Lloyd, following his critically acclaimed productions of The Ruling Class and Macbeth starring James McAvoy and his hit production with Martin Freeman of Richard III.
Apologia plays at Trafalgar Studios Saturday 29th July – Saturday 18th November
