The full cast has been revealed for the revival of Alan Ayckbourn’s How the Other Half Loves, coming to the Old Vic as part of Matthew Warchus’s final season as Artistic Director.
Directed by Phillip Breen (Anna Karenina, Red or Dead), the 1969 play How the Other Half Loves explores adulterous affair between a married man and his boss’s wife, who’s chaotic attempts to cover their tracks threaten to ruin everything.
Starring in the play as previously announced are Roger Allam (Endeavour, The Thick of It) as Frank Foster and Dorothy Atkinson (Ludwig, Mum) as Fiona Foster. The Old Vic announced the remaining cast will include Ayesha Antoine, Laura Elsworthy, Adam Gillen and Rowan Polonski.
Director Phillip Breen said, ‘Alan Ayckbourn is not only one of the English stage’s most brilliant comedians, but one of its great formal pioneers, too. How the Other Half Loves is the first time Ayckbourn plays around with theatre’s two essential building blocks, space and time — and the result is thrilling.’
How the Other Half Loves begins preview performances on 29 July 2026, and runs until 19 September 2026.
The cast of How the Other Half Loves
The action centres around three married couples: The Fosters, the Phillips and the Featherstones. Bob Phillips and Fiona Foster are having an affair and must cover their tracks. Ayckbourne’s play is a hilarious and sharp unfolding of the complicated web of lies and misunderstandings in each marriage.
- Roger Allam as Frank Foster, the generous but absent-minded boss.
- Dorothy Atkinson as Fiona Foster, his emotionally distant wife who is having an affair with Bob.
- Rowan Polonski as Bob Phillips, an ambitious employee having an affair with his boss’s wife.
- Ayesha Antoine as Teresa Phillips, Bob’s neglected wife who’s been looking after their baby near single-handedly.
- Adam Gillen as William Featherstone, a fellow employee, unwittingly dragged into the fray.
- Laura Elsworthy as Mary Featherstone, William’s sheltered wife.
Director Phillip Breen heads up a creative team that includes set & costume by Rob Howell, lighting by Azusa Ono and sound by Dyfan Jones.
Ayckbourn In the Round
Alan Ayckbourn’s play was originally written to be performed in the round, making it a good fit for the Old Vic’s Season in the Round. Staging has taken place entirely in the round, for productions like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Arcadia and Glengarry Glen Ross.
How the Other Half Loves famously utilises a composite set that features two different homes that seem to overlap. While it has been staged in the round before, it is often staged on a traditional proscenium.
The last major revival of the play was in 2016 at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and critics praised the set design that seamlessly blended two very different homes. Staging and set design are an essential part of the play, and the Old Vic’s staging in the round will offer an interesting new take on How the Other Half Loved.
Book tickets to How the Other Half Loved here
Plan your visit to How the Other Half Loves
- Theatre: Old Vic Theatre
- Booking dates: 29 July 2026 – 19 September 2026
- Age range: suitable for ages 12+
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