Sean Foley is to direct a major West End revival of Ronald Harwood’s The Dresser starring Ken Stott and Reece Shearsmith.
Both hilarious and poignant, The Dresser explores the relationship between two men who are reluctantly and inevitably co-dependent.
The play tells the heart-breaking story of an ageing, once-famous classical actor played by Stott and his long-suffering dresser (Shearsmith) as they struggle to keep the show on the road against the backdrop of a down-at-heel regional theatre in wartime Britain.
Nominated for Olivier and Tony Awards as well as an Academy Award for the screenplay of the film starring Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay, The Dresser is considered Harwood’s greatest play.
Ken Stott’s recent work includes Sky Atlantic’s British crime thriller Fortitude, Oscar Nominated Tolkien trilogy The Hobbit, and James Marsh’s next feature The Knot in which he stars alongside Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz and David Thewlis. The award winning actor’s numerous theatre credits include The Recruiting Officer, Broken Glass, Art with Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay and A View from the Bridge.
Best known for The League of Gentlemen and more recently BBC 2 hit show Inside Number 9 Shearsmith’s theatre credits include Absent Friends (Harold Pinter), Betty Blue Eyes (Novello), Ghost Stories (Duke of York’s), Producers (Theatre Royal), As You Like It (Wyndams) and Art (Whitehall).
The Dresser is to be co-produced with Mark Rubinstein Ltd and Jonathan Church Productions in the first production for Church’s new company after leaving Chichester Festival Theatre and Sydney Theatre Company.
The Dresser runs from 5 October 2016 until 14 January 2017 at the Duke of York’s Theatre.
