Melbourne Theatre Company Announces NORTH BY NORTHWEST Cast

Melbourne Theatre Company announced today the cast of North by Northwest with acclaimed actor Matt Day in the leading role of man-on-the-run, Roger O. Thornhill, and Amber McMahon as the cool blonde, Eve Kendall, in this stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's classic spy-thriller.

Matt Day, returning to MTC after last appearing in Scarlett O'Hara at the Crimson Parrot, and Amber McMahon, making her MTC debut, will be joined by Nicholas Bell (The Speechmaker), Ian Bliss (Hamlet), Sheridan Harbridge (The Speechmaker), Matt Hetherington (Next to Normal), John Leary (Private Lives), Tony Llewellyn-Jones (Realism), Deidre Rubenstein (His Girl Friday), Justin Stewart Cotta (Glengarry Glen Ross), Lucas Stibbard (Boy Girl Wall) and Lachlan Woods (Hamlet).

Adapted for stage by Carolyn Burns and directed by Simon Phillips, who is also co-designing the set, North by Northwest will be realised by a creative team including Nick Schlieper (lighting and set design), Esther Marie Hayes (costume design) and Ian McDonald (composition and sound design).

'With a magnificent cast now assembled and a stellar creative team behind it, North by Northwest has all the ingredients needed to bring this theatrical spectacular to life,' MTC Artistic Director Brett Sheehy AO said. 'The glamour, thrilling escapism and cinematic scope of this production is going to be a treat for audiences, and one not to miss on the 2015 theatre calendar.'

When Roger O. Thornhill, a suave and successful advertising executive, is abducted by thugs who insist he is a man called George Kaplan, there's obviously been a mix up. When they don't believe him, that's infuriating. When they try to kill him, that's frightening. And when they pin a murder on him, that's time to run!

From New York to North Dakota, Thornhill is chased by spies, Feds, crop-dusting planes and the inevitable cool blonde. Years before the James Bond films there was North by Northwest, a lightning paced thriller that mixed glamour with espionage to make a truly irresistible cocktail. MTC presents North by Northwest in collaboration with Kay + McLean Productions and Warner Bros. Theater Ventures.

North by Northwest plays at Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse from 1 June to 4 July 2015. Tickets for North by Northwest and all remaining MTC Season 2015 productions go on sale at 9am on Wednesday 4 March. For more information visit mtc.com.au/2015, call 03 8688 0800 or visit Southbank Theatre Box Office.