Cast Announced for Frantic Assembly's OTHELLO at Curve Theatre Leicester

Frantic Assembly hasa announced casting for its acclaimed production of Shakespeare's Othello which will tour from this autumn, opening at Curve Theatre Leicester on 19 September.

Michael Akinsulire (Trigger Point, Stephen, both ITV) will play Othello, Joe Layton (The Unreturning, Frantic Assembly; Young Wallander, Netflix) will play Iago, Chanel Waddock (Rock, Paper, Scissors, Sheffield Crucible; Hamlet, National Theatre) will play Desdemona, Oliver Baines (I Like The Way You Move , Frantic Ignition 2019, Theatre Peckham) will play Montano, Tom Gill (Vigil, BBC; Britannia, Sky) will play Cassio, Felipe Pacheco (Brassic, Sky; The Responder, BBC) will play Roderigo, Hannah Sinclair Robinson (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, UK and Ireland Tour; Rockets, Blue Lights, both National Theatre) will play Bianca, Kirsty Stuart (I Think We Are Alone, Frantic Assembly; Call the Midwife, BBC) will play Emilia, and Matthew Trevannion (War Horse, National Theatre; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, West End) will play Brabantio.

Five members of the Othello cast and creative team are past graduates of Frantic Assembly's Ignition programme including Associate Director David Gilbert, Co-Choreographer Perry Johnson, Joe Layton (Iago), Oliver Baines (Montano) and Felipe Pacheco (Roderigo), proving that Frantic Assembly is at the forefront of finding, developing, and providing opportunity for new talent from all over the UK.

Ignition is a free, nationwide talent development programme for young people aged 16-24. It seeks out underrepresented talent in unexpected places, playing a vital role in dismantling barriers that can prevent fresh perspectives from revitalising the Arts. Ignition continues to transform lives, open doors and allows young people to reach beyond what they thought they were capable of.

Frantic Assembly Co-Founder and Artistic Director Scott Graham said: "It is wonderful to be able to take our work back out on tour, to connect and demonstrate the talent of this brilliant cast within a story that feels as urgent and thrilling as ever".

Blisteringly relevant today, Othello exposes the tension, fear and insecurity buried beneath the veneer of our relationships and how easily that can be maliciously exploited. Lies and truths are blurred to create a poison paranoia that eats away from the inside, manipulating and destroying, turning a community upon itself.

Frantic Assembly takes Shakespeare's muscular and beautiful text, combines its own bruising physicality, and presents an Othello firmly rooted in a volatile 21st century. This is a world of broken glass and broken promises, of poisonous manipulation and explosive violence. Othello's passionate affair with Desdemona becomes the catalyst for jealousy, betrayal, revenge and the darkest intents.

Originally presented to great acclaim in 2008 and 2014, this updated version in co-production with Curve Theatre Leicester, will tour to Curve Leicester, Liverpool Playhouse, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Theatre Royal York, Yvonne Arnaud Guildford, Oxford Playhouse, The Lowry Salford Quays, MAST Mayflower Studios Southampton, Connaught Theatre, Worthing and the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre London.

Frantic Assembly's other current and upcoming work includes Frantic Assembly STUDIO, an innovative new digital resource platform for teaching drama in secondary schools launching in September and a thrilling new take on Kafka's Metamorphosis to premiere and tour in 2023.

Press Night for Othello will be Wednesday 21 September at Curve, Leicester.