Produced in association with Sonia Friedman Productions
By Patrick Hamilton
Directed By Roger Michell
Based on a real case, Patrick Hamilton’s dark classic presents a chilling anatomy of an apparently motiveless murder, and a brilliant snapshot of a jazz-age generation wallowing in privilege, booze, parties, a shallow obsession with fashion and films, and a desperate inner emptiness.
Sabot
Philip has previously appeared in England People Very Nice at the National Theatre, Silver Birch House, A Family Affair and Tartuffe at the Arcola Theatre, and 1001 Nights Now on UK tour. His television work includes Five Days, Father and Son, House of Saddam, Ten Days to War, Silent Witness, Whistleblowers, Spooks, and Casualty, and his film credits include Happy-Go-Lucky, Really, Chicken Soup and Hair in the Soup.
Rupert Cadell
Bertie's theatre credits include The Pride for the Royal Court, The Circle for Chichester Festival Theatre and Parade for the Donmar Warehouse as well as Man of Mode, The Life of Galileo and Coram Boy for the National Theatre. His film credits are John Adams and Suits and Stripes. On television his credits include Waking The Dead, Primeval, Hawking and Midsomer Murders. He has recorded extensively for BBC Radio 3 and 4.
Mrs Debenham
Emma's theatre credits include In Flame at the Bush and New Ambassadors Theatres, Medea at the Queen’s Theatre, The Invention of Love for the National Theatre, Great Expectations for Oxford Stage Company, Smoke for the Royal Exchange Manchester, Dangerous Corner for Theatre Royal Northampton, Tess of the D’Urbervilles at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Sweet Sessions for Shared Experience, In Broad Daylight at the Tricycle Theatre and Nuffield Theatre Southampton, and Princess Ivona for ATC at the Lyric Hammersmith and on tour. Her television credits include The Palace, Doctors and In a Wild Workshop.
Sir Johnstone Kentley
Michael's extensive theatre work includes Three Sisters and What Every Woman Knows for the Royal Exchange Manchester, The Long Road for Soho Theatre, The Solid Gold Cadillac in the West End, Revelations for Hampstead Theatre, and Broken Glass at West Yorkshire Playhouse, as well as many productions for the Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park and The Orange Tree, Richmond. His extensive television credits include The Tudors, Foyle’s War, A Small Island, Ten Days to War, The Bill, Midsomer Murders, Heartbeat, The Queen’sSister, Bad Girls and Robin Hood. His film credits include Surveillance, Shadowman, Half Moon Street, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, A Touch of Class, and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.
Kenneth Raglan
Henry's theatre credits include Punk Rock at the Lyric Hammersmith, Divine for Soho Theatre, and Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat: The Odyssey and The Miracle for the National Theatre. His film credits include Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Unrelated, and his television work includes The Inbetweeners, In Search of Pete Doherty, MI High, The Rotter’s Club and Murphy’s Law.
Wyndham Brandon
Blake has appeared in Arcadia both at Bristol Old Vic and for the National Theatre, as well as roles in Happytime Park for Riverside Studios, In Praise of Love for Theatre Royal Bath, and Macbeth and White Chameleon for the National Theatre. His film credits include Dead Man Running, RocknRolla,The Cicerones, The Box, Hilary and Jackie, and The John Lennon Story. On television his many credits include Mr Elton in the BBC’s Emma, Edmund Bertram in Mansfield Park andShelley in The Romantics, as well as Red Cap, God on Trial, The Inspector Linley Mysteries, A Touch of Frost, and The League of Gentlemen.
Charles Granillo
Alex has recently been seen on stage as Laertes in Hamlet and Sebastian in Twelfth Night both for the Donmar Warehouse. His other theatre work includes Shraddha at the Soho Theatre, Troilus in Troilus and Cressida at the Barbican, Angry Young Man at Trafalgar Studios, Hobson’s Choice for Chichester Festival Theatre, Macbeth for West Yorkshire Playhouse, Big Love for the Gate Theatre, and Romeo and Juliet for Birmingham Rep. His film credits include When I Was Falling and One Eyed Chloe and the Eleventh Shot.
Leila Arden
Phoebe’s theatre credits include 2nd May 1997 at the Bush Theatre, Roaring Trade at Soho Theatre, Twelfth Night for Sprite Productions, Crazy Love for Paines Plough, and Is Everyone OK? for nabokov. Her film credits include The Reward for Sentinel Productions, winner of the 2009 Sony Red Connect Award. Phoebe is also Co-Artistic Director of DryWrite.
Director
An award-winning stage and screen director, Roger Michell’s recent theatre credits include The Female of the Species at the Vaudeville Theatre, Betrayal and Old Times both for the Donmar Warehouse and Honour for the National Theatre, where he has also directed productions of Landscape With Weapon, Blue/Orange, The Homecoming, Under Milk Wood and The Coup. He directed My Night with Reg at the Royal Court and subsequently in the West End. For six years he was Resident Director at the Royal Shakespeare Company where productions included Restoration, The Constant Couple, Hamlet and The Dead Monkey. His many screen credits include the hugely successful romantic comedy Notting Hill as well as Venus, Enduring Love, The Mother, Changing Lanes, Titanic Town, Persuasion, My Night with Reg and The Buddha of Suburbia, for which he also co-wrote the screenplay.
Design
Olivier award-winning Mark’s previous work for the Almeida includes Volpone, Betrayal, Party Time and Butterfly Kiss. He has designed extensively for theatre, most recently The Fastest Clock in the Universe for Hampstead Theatre, and England People Very Nice, The Rose Tattoo, The Alchemist, Henry IV parts I and II and The Duchess of Malfi at the National Theatre. His numerous West End productions include God of Carnage, Female of the Species, Joseph, Kean, And Then There Were None, Bombay Dreams, Mamma Mia! and The Lady in the Van, many of which have transferred to Broadway as well as international tours. His other theatre work includes Piano Forte, The Woman Before, Wild East and Mouth to Mouth for the Royal Court; Jumpers, The Country Wife and Mumbo Jumbo at the Lyric Hammersmith; and The School for Scandal and Owners at the Young Vic. He also designs for opera and ballet.
Lighting
Rick is Chairman of the Association of Lighting Designers in the UK, and winner of two Olivier Awards for Best Lighting Design, and two Tony Awards - for An Inspector Calls and Billy Elliot the musical, both on Broadway.
His other extensive theatre work includes The Fastest Clock in the Universe at Hampstead Theatre, The Family Reunion, Betrayal, The Philanthropist and Old Times at the Donmar Warehouse, The Cherry Orchard for Chichester Festival Theatre, Sweeney Todd for the Gate Theatre, Dublin, Landscape With Weapon, Honour, Jerry Springer the Opera and Blue/Orange for the National Theatre (Jerry Springer and Blue/Orange also in the West End), Resurrection Blues for the Old Vic, Tin Tin at the Barbican, Far Away in New York, and A Number for the Royal Court. He has also worked extensively on national and international dance and opera productions.
Sound
John Leonard has previously worked on sound design at the Almeida Theatre for Duet for One, Waste, The Homecoming, Big White Fog, Dying For It, Hedda Gabler, Macbeth, Brighton Rock, Whistling Psyche, Five Gold Rings, The Mercy Seat, and I.D. He has also worked extensively on productions for the National Theatre including The Power of Yes, England People Very Nice, Much Ado About Nothing and The Enchantment; productions for the RSC including Antony and Cleopatra, The Prisoner's Dilemma, and Romeo and Juliet; and extensive work for the Druid Theatre Galway/Dublin, Soho Theatre, Hampstead Theatre, Birmingham Rep, Oxford Playhouse and Liverpool Playhouse. His work in the West End and on Broadway includes Calendar Girls, Carrie's War, Collaboration, Taking Sides, Jumpers, and Translations.
“A finely geared drama… shrewdly judged… Blake Ritson is superb, a beautifully nuanced study in effortful composure… Bertie Carvel [gives] an exquisitely created performance of great confidence and maturity. Rope is intriguing, an absorbing and compelling acted piece of theatre”
Evening Standard
"Roger Michell’s revival at the Almeida is the best I’ve seen… Bertie Carvel [is] riveting… Brandon and Granillo are compellingly played too... the whole show is like Pinter by gaslight, strange, hypnotic and suitably chilled for this time of year.”
Whatsonstage.com
“A chillingly dark work… Cadell played with gorgeous poise by Bertie Carvel”
Daily Mail
“Roger Michell’s production is…terrifically tense…a sort of dramatic pressure-cooker… Blake Ritson is superb… [with] a devilishly wily, effete performance from Bertie Carvel.”
Independent on Sunday
“Roger Michell’s fascinating reinvention of Rope… the Titus Andronicus of the 20th century… In a wonderful speech, [Rupert Cadell] talks about the city at night, spinning a web of melancholy phrases… It is delivered magnificently by Carvel, one of the most arresting of young British actors.”
The Observer
“Bertie Carvel’s Cadell is superb… Blake Ritson, too, is excellent as Brandon… he has a disturbing energy about him and is well complemented by Alex Waldmann. The climax, then, is transfixing, and Michell draws out the black comedy nicely, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge as a ditsy society girl prattling on about murder… in the final confrontation, the staging tightens the moral noose expertly.”
Financial Times