Hugh Dancy To Star in MCC Theatre's THE PRIDE

MCC Theater (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, Artistic Directors; William Cantler, Associate Artistic Director; Blake West, Executive Director) has announced the trio of English actors who will appear in the American premiere production of Alexi Kaye Campbell's The Pride, directed by Joe Mantello. Hugh Dancy (Adam, Journey's End), Andrea Riseborough (Happy Go Lucky) and Ben Whishaw (Bright Star, Brideshead Revisited) will star in the four person play, with a fourth actor to be announced shortly. The production will mark Ms. Riseborough and Mr. Whishaw's New York stage debuts. Performances begin at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, NYC) on January 27 and continue through March 20, 2010. Opening night is set for Tuesday, February 16 at 7:00 p.m.

Oliver, Philip and Sylvia are caught in a kind of erotic time warp. Their complex love triangle, replete with conflicting loyalties and passions, jumps from 1958 to the present and back in a maelstrom of fantasy, repression and rebellion in this innovative new drama. After taking London by storm last season in an Olivier Award-winning production at the Royal Court, The Pride now makes its American premiere at MCC Theater. Tony Award-winning director Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Blackbird) joins playwright Alexi Kaye Campbell (Apologia) to stage this alternately tough and touching look at love.

Performances are Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:00 pm, Thursdays - Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 2:00 pm and Sundays at 3:00 pm. Individual tickets will go on sale Tuesday, December 15. MCC Theater season subscriptions are now available by visiting www.mcctheater.org
or by contacting Ticket Central directly at www.ticketcentral.com or calling 212-279-4200.

Later in the season, MCC Theater's production of Beth Henley's Family Week, directed by Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs), will star Rosemarie DeWitt and Sarah Jones. Complete casting for Family Week is forthcoming. The company's current production of Alexander Dinelaris' Still Life is now in previews and opens on October 5.

Hugh Dancy, Andrea Riseborough and Ben Whishaw are appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association. MCC Theater gratefully acknowledges Actors' Equity Association for its assistance on this production.

MCC Theater is one of New York City's leading Off Broadway theater companies, committed to presenting New York and world premieres each season. When MCC Theater was founded in 1986, its mission was simple: to bring new theatrical voices to theater-going audiences. MCC Theater continues to accomplish this yearly through presentation of its mainstage works; its Literary Program, which actively seeks and develops new and emerging writers and its Education & Outreach Program, allowing more than 1,200 students yearly to experience theater, increase literacy and discover their own voices in the arts. Notable MCC Theater highlights include: the 2008 Tony Award-nominated reasons to be pretty by Neil LaBute, last season's Fifty Words, the

2004 Tony-winning production of Bryony Lavery's Frozen; Neil LaBute's Fat Pig; Rebecca Gilman's The Glory of Living; Marsha Norman's Trudy Blue; Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit; Tim Blake Nelson's The Grey Zone and Alan Bowne's Beirut. Over the years, the dedication
to the work of new and emerging artists has earned MCC Theater a variety of awards.

For a complete production history, visit www.mcctheater.org.

Hugh Dancy currently stars in Max Mayer's Adam opposite Rose Byrne. Dancy plays the title character, a young man with Asperger's syndrome struggling to survive in New York City. His life changes forever when he meets his new neighbor Beth (Byrne). Adam premiered at this year's
Sundance Film Festival and was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize. The film was released by Fox Searchlight on July 29, 2009 and Hugh has received rave reviews for his performance. Dancy recently starred in P.J. Hogan's Confessions of a Shopaholic opposite
Isla Fisher. Based on the books by Sophie Kinsella, the story follows Rebecca Bloomwood (Fisher), who is a college graduate working as a financial journalist to support her shopping addiction. With her bills piling up, her life changes when she meets Luke Brandon (Dancy) a handsome entrepreneur who is not only her new boss but also has a passion for fashion. Confessions of a Shopaholic was released by Disney/Buena Vista on February 14, 2009 and has grossed over $100
million worldwide. Dancy's other film credits include: The Jane Austen Book Club, Evening, Beyond the Gates, King Arthur, Ella Enchanted, The Sleeping Dictionary, Black Hawk Down, and Young Blades. On television, Dancy starred in Tom Hooper's critically acclaimed series "Elizabeth I" opposite Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons. Dancy received an Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his role as Earl of Essex and the series received the 2007 Golden Globe Award for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television and the Emmy Award for Best Miniseries. Dancy's other television credits include: "Daniel Deronda," "David
Copperfield," "Relic Hunter" and "Madame Bovary." On stage, Dancy starred in David Grindley's Journey's End opposite Boyd Gaines, Jefferson Mays and Stark Sands. Journey's End won the 2007 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Dancy graduated with an English Literature degree from St. Peter's College, Oxford.

Andrea Riseborough graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her professional theatre credits include Ivanov (Donmar Warehouse), The Pain and the Itch (Royal Court), Miss Julie/Measure for Measure (Theatre Royal Bath), Citizen/Burn/Chatroom (National Theatre), A
Couple of Poor Polish Speaking Romanians and A Brief History of Helen of Troy (Soho Theatre). For television, her credits include "The Devil's Whore" (Royal Television Society Award and Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress), "Being Human," "The Long Walk to Finchley" (BAFTA TV nomination, Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress), "Party Animals and A Very Social Secretary;" and for film, Love You More, Mad Bad & Sad, Happy Go Lucky, Magicians and Venus. Upcoming films include We Want Sex, Brighton Rock and Never Let Me Go. She was a recipient of the 1999 Mike Figgis Award, and in 2007 she won the Ian Charleson Award for her performances in Measure For Measure and in Miss Julie.

Ben Whishaw trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. In 1999, prior to drama school, Ben played supporting roles in two films, The Trench and Mauvaise Passé. He also played the title role in My Brother Tom. After graduation, he went on to appear in Enduring Love, a film adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel directed by Roger Michel, and Layer Cake, a feature directed by Matthew Vaughan where he starred alongside Daniel Craig and Sienna Miller. ln 2003, he starred in the
comedy-drama The Booze Cruise for ITV. Ben subsequently made his West End debut at The National Theatre in their stage adaptation of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials and starred as Hamlet in Trevor Nunn's electric 'youth' version of the play at the Old Vic, for which he has
received tremendous critical acclaim and a Laurence Olivier nomination in 2005. Ben played the lead character Grenouille in the highly acclaimed Perfume which debuted in the UK in December 2006. Ben has also shot a feature film called Stoned, in which he plays Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones, which was released in 2006. In the same year, Ben also completed filming I'm Not There, Todd Haynes film portrayal of Bob Dylan's life. Ben plays the young, poetic Dylan to be
seen on screens in the fall of 2007. Ben also appeared on television in "Nathan Barley" from director Chris Morris for TalkBack Productions. Ben returned to the theatre for Katie Mitchell's version of The Seagull at The National Theatre in the Autumn of 2006. Ben's most recent projects include Brideshead Revisited which was released to critical acclaim in September 2008. In 2008 Ben also starred in the hugely popular BBC drama "Criminal Justice" which saw him pick up
the award for best actor at the 2009 Royal Television Society Awards and was BATFA nominated for the second time. 2008 also saw Ben in The Idiot played at The National Theatre. 2009 is set to be a busy year again for Ben seeing him star as poet John Keats in the upcoming film,
Bright Star out in November. The film focuses on Keats' relationship with Fanny Brawne, who will be played by Abbie Cornish. Out in 2010, Ben can also be seen playing Ariel opposite Helen Mirren and Russell Brand in the eagerly anticipated film William Shakespeare's The  Tempest. Returning to the stage later this year Ben will take the lead role in the Royal Court's production of Cock. Ben is due to star in Kill Your Darlings next year.