British actor, singer, presenter, writer and director John Partridge, known for his long-running role as Christian Clarke in BBC 1’s EastEnders and extensive range of West End credits from CATS to Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, will don the iconic mask as the refined and sadistic Dr Hannibal Lecter.
Acclaimed television writer and playwright Gina Gionfriddo (Law & Order (NBC), House of Cards (Netflix), Becky Shaw) brings Thomas Harris’s gripping literary masterpiece to the stage in a new modern adaptation directed by Curve’s Artistic Director, Nikolai Foster. Gionfriddo’s theatrical adaptation delves into the psychological tension of Thomas Harris’s landmark novel, drawing the audience deep into Clarice and Lecter’s intelligent, intricate, and bone-chilling game of cat-and-mouse, as the FBI scramble to catch Buffalo Bill, a serial killer still at large.
Full creative team and further casting to be announced.
When FBI trainee Clarice Starling is sent to interview the psychiatrist and infamous murderer Hannibal Lecter, it’s hoped his brilliant mind will help catch the sadistic new serial killer, Buffalo Bill. Another girl is missing, and time is running out. But Dr Lecter has questions of his own, and now Clarice must decide: keep a safe distance, or let Hannibal ‘The Cannibal’ into her head?
At just 16, John Partridge left college to join the original UK tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS, later transferring to the West End production at the New London Theatre to star as Rum Tum Tugger. He reprised the role in the official filmed version opposite Elaine Paige and John Mills.
John’s extensive West End, touring and international theatre credits include: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Peacock Theatre); A Chorus Line (London Palladium); The Drowsy Chaperone (Novello Theatre); Notre-Dame de Paris (Dominion Theatre); The Fix (Donmar Warehouse), directed by Sam Mendes; Tommy (Shaftesbury Theatre); Grease (Dominion Theatre); Starlight Express (Apollo Victoria Theatre); The Hunting of the Snark (Prince Edward Theatre); Taboo 20th Anniversary Concert (London Palladium); The Witches of Eastwick in Concert (Sondheim Theatre); The Chalk Garden (Theatre Royal Windsor & Yvonne Arnaud Theatre); The Doncastrian Chalk Circle (National Theatre & CAST Doncaster); The Emcee in Cabaret (Rufus Norris production, UK tour); The View Upstairs (Soho Theatre); Rough Crossing (UK tour); The Case of the Frightened Lady (UK tour); La Cage Aux Folles (UK tour); Chicago (UK tour); The Tempest (Northcott Theatre); Miss Saigon (UK tour); Rent (European tour); Black Goes With Everything (Churchill Theatre, Bromley); Marilyn in Boy George’s Taboo (The Venue); and most recently Billy Haynes in The Code (Southwark Playhouse Elephant).
On screen, John is widely known for his long-running role as Christian Clarke in EastEnders (BBC, 2007–2016). His screen work also includes Involuntary Activist (Iris Prize/BBC) and Cleopatra (Netflix).
A well-known television personality, John won Celebrity MasterChef (BBC) and has appeared on The Real Full Monty (ITV), Taking The Next Step (CBBC), Tumble (BBC) and Battlechefs with Marco Pierre White (Watch). He has also served as a celebrity judge on Over the Rainbow (BBC), guest-hosted The National Lottery Draws (BBC), and is a regular contributor on Jeremy Vine (Channel 5). Download John’s full biography HERE.