Blake Harrison, Benjamin Dilloway, et al. Star in STEP 9 (OF 12), Opening Tonight, May 4

As previously announced for STEP 9 (OF 12), joining Blake Harrison in his West End debut as Keith will be Wendy Nottingham, Barry McCarthy and Benjamin Dilloway. The show opens at Trafalgar Studios in a new production directed by Tom Attenborough. The four-week run begins tonight, May 4, 2012 at 7.00pm.

STEP 9 (OF 12) is a macabre comedy that follows Keith, a recovering alcoholic, on the 12 step program to recovery. A lifetime of drug and alcohol abuse has given him a lot to apologise for - particularly to the two people who raised him as a child. But as the memories of violence, betrayal, lies and recriminations are raked to the surface, it becomes clear that begging forgiveness for past actions can have shocking repercussions in the present. STEP 9 (OF 12) examines society at its darkest times in this new and provocative piece of theatre.

Blake Harrison trained at The Brit School followed by East 15 Acting School. He will be making his West End debut playing the lead role of Keith. He is best known for playing Neil Sutherland in Channel 4's award winning series The Inbetweeners, which ran for 3 series and was subsequently made into a feature film which was the highest grossing British comedy of 2011 and recently won an Empire Film award for Best Comedy. Television credits include The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff, Him & Her, White Van Man, Function Room, The Bill, Half Time and Schizo Samurai Shitzu. Film credits include The Inbetweeners Movie, Reuniting the Rubins, The Rough Cut and The Tin Snail. Theatre includes The Accidental Lives of Memories (White Bear Theatre). Radio includes The History Plays: Jagger's in Jail.

Wendy Nottingham has just finished playing ‘Pam’in the critically acclaimed productionof In Basildon atthe Royal Court.Other recent theatre credits include: Grief (National Theatre), Blithe Spirit (Manchester Royal Exchange), Natural Selection (Theatre 503), Stoopud Fucken Animals (Traverse Theatre), Total Eclipse (Menier Chocolate Factory), Cloud Nine (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield), Abigail’s Party (Ambassadors Theatre/Hampstead), The York Realist (Tour/Royal Court), Rupert Street Lonely Hearts Club (Criterion Theatre), The Madness of Esme and Shaz (Royal Court), It’s A Great Big Shame (Theatre Royal Stratford East), The Way of the World (Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith), The Shaughraun, The Voysey Inheritance (National Theatre), Jane Eyre (Leeds Playhouse), Ambulance (Royal Court), The Crucible (Young Vic Studio). Film includes Bigga Than Ben (Bigga Than Ben), Atonement (Working Title), Notes On A Scandal (Fox Searchlight), Babel (GHM Films), Vera Drake (Thin Man Films), Topsy Turvy (Thin Man Films), Secrets and Lies (Thin Man Films), Mary Reilly (Tristar Pictures). Television includes Crimson Peal and the White (BBC/Origin), Victoria Wood Christmas Special (BBC), Getting On (BBC), Spooks (Kudos), Lewis (Granada), Silent Witness (BBC), Kingdom (Kingdom TV), Miss Marple (Granada), Housewife 49 (Granada), Extras (BBC) The Rise and Fall of Rome (BBC) The Golden Hour (Granada), Casualty (BBC), Kiss Me Kate (BBC), People Like Us (BBC), The People Principle (Hatrick), Macallum (STV), A Wing and A Prayer (Thames TV), The Pale Horse (Mai Productions), The Scuptress (Red Rooster), Bliss (Abbey Films), The Vet (Zennith/Ikona), Bramwell (Carlton), The Bill (Talkback Thames), Extremely Dangerous (North West One Films), The Wimbledon Poisoner (ABTV), A Very Peculiar Practice (BBC) and Precious Bane (BBC).

Barry McCarthy started his professional career in 1968 and has since clocked up over 200 stage and screen credits. Among the writers and directors he has worked with are Adrian Noble, Gregory Doran, Alan Bleasdale, Willie Russell, Michael Attenborough, Richard Eyre, Michael Frayn, Matthew Lloyd, Tim Firth, Julian Jarrold and Stephen Poliakoff. He is known for his association with Alan Ayckbourn, having appeared in over twenty productions of his plays. Five of these were world premieres directed by Sir Alan, and includEd Jerome in Henceforward… (also UK and World tours), Stanley in Wildest Dreams (also for the Royal Shakespeare Company), and Gilbert in Things We Do For Love for which he received a Barclays Theatre Award nomination as Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Other work for the Royal Shakespeare Company includes The Canterbury Tales, As You Like It and Back to Methuselah. Recently he has appeared at The National Theatre in The White Guard for Howard Davies, Realism at the Soho Theatre and a Round-Heeled Womanfor Jane Prowse. Recent film and TV includes Kinky Boots, Notes on a Scandal, Missing, Doctors and Holby City.

Benjamin Dilloway trained at LAMDA. This production marks his West End debut. Theatre includes: Mercury Fur (Old Red Lion Theatre) Excellent Choice (The Vault Festival at The Old Vic Tunnels), Chicken (Southwark Playhouse), But otherwise went well... (Waterloo East Theatre), The 24 Hour Plays: Old Vic New Voices (Old Vic) and Tape (Counter Culture). Film includes: Archers by Guillaume Borkhataria, Hold on me by Sam Abrahams and Jim//Jess.

Writer Rob Hayes’s credits include A Butcher of Distinction, which opened at the Kings Head Theatre last year and was subsequently nominated for two Off West End Awards: Most Promising New Playwright and Best New Play. Plays include Selling Clive (Lost Theatre), which won Best Overall Production at the 26th Lost One Act Festival, Council (Royal Exchange Showcase), Sandy123 (Camden Roundhouse Studio), A Wake (Canal Cafe Theatre) and The Diabolic Banquet (Contact Theatre).

Director Tom Attenborough trained at Cambridge University. He was shortlisted for the prestigious JMK Award in 2011. Theatre credits include Port Authority (Southwark Playhouse), Arab Spring (Arch 61), The Mountaintop (Derby LIVE), The Shape of Things (The Gallery Soho). As Assistant Director credits includes Earthquakes in London (Headlong), Butley (Duchess Theatre), Master Class (Theatre Royal Bath), House of Games (Almeida) and Love Story (Minerva Theatre, Chichester).

STEP 9 (OF 12) features set and costume designs by Francesca Reidy, lighting design by Neill Brinkworth and sound design by Vicky Wilkinson.

Produced by James Quaife in association with Tom O’Connell for QNQ.

For more information, visit www.step9of12.com or follow the play on Twitter: @Step9of12 and on Facebook ‘Step 9 (of 12) The Play’

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