THE EXORCIST Premieres at Birmingham Repertory Theatre

A new production of The Exorcist, directed by Sean Mathias, will receive its UK premiere at Birmingham Repertory Theatre from Friday 21 October - Saturday 5 November 2016. The cast features Jenny Seagrove in the role of Chris, Peter Bowles as Father Merrin and Adam Garcia as Damien.

When the medical profession fails to provide answers to Regan's strange symptoms, her desperate mother Chris turns to a local priest for help. But before Father Damien can tackle what's before him, he must overcome his own shaken beliefs, as this fight is more than just one girl's soul.

Inspired by true events, the two-time Oscar-winning film version of this story has terrified generations the world over since its release in 1973. Now this brand-new stage production of The Exorcist is unleashed for the very first time in a uniquely theatrical experience.

Jenny Seagrove, one of the UK's most respected actresses, will be playing the role of Chris, the mother of Regan, who suffers emotional turmoil in the search to find help for her daughter's ever increasing strange behaviour. Her prolific theatre career has seen her play the lead in almost every West End playhouse, with recent credits including Alan Ayckbourn's How The Other Half Loves at the Haymarket, Brief Encounter, Volcano, Tennessee Williams' Night Of The Iguana, David Rabe's Hurlyburly and The Country Girl with Martin Shaw. Jenny is also known to millions of TV viewers as QC Jo Mills in ITV's BAFTA award winning Judge John Deed.

Peter Bowles, star of stage, film and television, will play Father Merrin - the Exorcist of the title. Peter's West End theatre credits include Hay Fever with Judi Dench at Theatre Royal Haymarket, Archie Rice in John Osborne's The Entertainer (Shaftesbury), Wait Until Dark (Garrick), and several leading roles in classic plays for Sir Peter Hall. He is probably best remembered for playing the role of Richard DeVere in the hit BBC comedy series To The Manor Born as well as leading roles in The Irish RM, The Bounder, Rumpole of the Bailey and Only When I Laugh.

Adam Garcia stars as Damien, the troubled priest tasked with saving Regan. Adam has starred in many Hollywood films including Coyote Ugly, Riding In Cars With Boys, Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen and Love's Brother. On stage, Adam has achieved international success with roles in West End stage productions including Saturday Night Fever, Wicked and Kiss Me Kate winning him critical acclaim and two Olivier Award nominations. Most recently Adam played the lead in the Australian production of Singin' In The Rain and was also a judge on the Australian TV series of Dancing With The Stars and as a judge in the UK series of Got To Dance.

The cast also includes Clare Louise Connolly (Regan), Todd Boyce (Doctor Strong), Mitchell Mullen (Doctor Klein), Joseph Wilkins (Father Joe) and Tristram Wymark (Burke)

The Exorcist is directed by the award-winning Sean Mathias (No Man's Land and Waiting For Godot West End / Broadway). Joining Sean in the creative team is Olivier Award-winning Designer Anna Fleischle (Hangmen), Lighting Designer Tim Mitchell, Composer and Sound Designer Adam Cork (London Road), Video and Projection Designer Duncan McLean and Illusions by Ben Hart.

The Exorcist is a play by John Pielmeier based on the novel by William Peter Blatty. It is presented by Birmingham Repertory Theatre in association with Bill Kenwright, by special arrangement with Ben Sprecher and Stuart Snyder.

Programmed alongside The Exorcist, for a special Halloween season, is Séance by Glen Neath and David Rosenberg (18 - 29 October) - a 15-minute immersive performance that takes place in absolute darkness inside a shipping container outside The REP in Centenary Square.

THE EXORCIST

Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Centenary Square, Broad Street, Birmingham, B1 2EP

Performance times: Evenings 7.30pm apart from Tuesday 25 October 7pm; Saturday 29 October & Saturday 5 November 8pm. Matinees: Thursday 27 October, 2.30pm; Saturday 29 October 4pm; Thursday 3 November, 2.30pm; Saturday 5 November, 4pm.

Accessible performances: Tuesday 1 November 7.30pm - Audio Described performance. Wednesday 2 November, 7.30pm - Captioned Performance. Thursday 3 November, 7.30pm - British Sign Language Interpreted performance.

Age guidance 18+ - this production contains adult material which may shock and offend.

Tickets: From £15 with preview performances (21-22 Oct) from £10

Box Office: 0121 236 4455 Book Online: birmingham-rep.co.uk
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