Tamzin Outhwaite will star in The Haunting of Alice Bowles, following the withdrawal of Janie Dee for personal reasons.
Outhwaite will play the titular role in the online production of Philip Franks’ supernatural thriller, adapted for the first time from the M.R. James chilling short ghost story, The Experiment.
Outhwaite, who is probably best known for her regular TV roles in EastEnders, New Tricks, Hotel Babylon and Red Cap, has numerous stage credits to her name including Stepping Out (Theatre Royal Bath &Tour), How The Other Half Loves (West End), Di & Viv & Rose (West End & Hampstead), Sweet Charity (Menier Chocolate Factory & West End), Boeing Boeing (West End), Breathing Corpses (Royal Court), Oliver! (West End).
The production also features Max Bowden (EastEnders) as Matt, Stephen Boxer (The Crown) as Dr Hall, Jack Archer (Monogamy) as Joseph, Alexandra Guelff (Witness for the Prosecution) as Caitlin, Robert Mountford (Holby City) as the Lawyer, Poppy Roe (A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life) as Mrs Ivey and Tim Treloar (King Lear) as the Boatman.
Produced by Original Theatre Company, The Haunting of Alice Bowles is the company’s fourth original online production since theatres were closed by the UK government in March this year.
Philip Franks said “I’ve loved M. R. James ever since I was terrified by ‘Whistle and I’ll Come To You’ on the BBC in 1968. A series of brilliantly subtle and scary adaptations of his ghost stories were a highlight of Christmas viewing for many years. Now it’s my turn. I’ve taken a very short story of his – as far as I know never dramatised before – and given it a modern twist for our troubled times. I hope audiences find it pleasurably terrifying.”
Alastair Whatley, Artistic Director of Original Theatre Company, said “It’s a real pleasure to be announcing our fourth major project for Original Theatre Online. Philip Franks’s brand new adaptation provides a new twist on a classic ghost story in time for Christmas. The Haunting of Alice Bowles continues our work innovating a new form of creating and sharing work online, a cine-theatrical event for dark December nights.”
The play will be co-directed by Philip Franks and Alastair Whatley, with design by Adrian Linford, sound design and original music composed by Max Pappenheim and edited by Tristan Shepherd.
The Haunting of Alice Bowles will be available to watch via originaltheatreonline.com from 7.30pm on 17 December 2020 until 28 February 2021.
