Casting has been announced for a new production of Terry Johnson’s hit comedy Dead Funny.
Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd, Humans), Steve Pemberton (The League of Gentleman, Benidorm), Ralf Little (The Royle Family, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps), Emily Berrington (Humans) and Rufus Jones (W1A, The Casual Vacancy) will lead the cast, which is also directed by Johnson.
Dead Funny follows Eleanor (Parkinson), who wants a baby, and her husband Richard (Jones), who runs the Dead Funny Society. When comedy heroes Frankie Howerd and Benny Hill die in the same week the Dead Funny Society gathers for a celebration of laughter and hilarity. But Eleanor’s grin, hides a grimace. When your marriage is deader than either Morcambe or Wise it’s hard to see the funny side of things.
Dead Funny returns to the Vaudeville Theatre where it was first performed 21 years ago and starred Zoe Wanamaker and David Haig.
Producer Nica Burns said: “A revival of this wonderful play is long overdue. Like life, it’s as funny as it is moving and needs an outstandingly talented cast.”
Parkinson is best known for her role as Jen Barber in the Channel 4 comedy series The IT Crowd and more recently the Channel 4/AMC science-fiction drama Humans. Her theatre credits include include Before The Party (Almeida Theatre), Absent Friends (Harold Pinter Theatre), 66 Books (Bush Theatre), School For Scandal (Barbican Theatre), Season’s Greetings (National Theatre), Cock (Royal Court Theatre) and The Seagull (Royal Court Theatre).
Steve Pemberton’s theatre credits include She Stoops to Conquer (National Theatre), The 25th Annual Puttnam County Spelling Bee (Donmar Warehouse), The Drowsy Chaperone and Art (West End). He is well known for his work on television which includes The League of Gentlemen, Camping, Happy Valley, Whitechapel, Inside No.9, Benidorm, Psychoville, Mapp & Lucia and Doctor Who.
Dead Funny runs from 27 October 2016 until 4 February 2017 at the Vaudeville Theatre.
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