Casting Announced For ALPHABETICAL ORDER At Hampstead

Christopher Luscombe directs Alphabetical Order: A Hampstead Theatre production ALPHABETICAL ORDER by Michael Frayn, 16 April - 16 May 2009 (Press night Tuesday 21 April, 7pm)

Director: Christopher Luscombe, Designer: Janet Bird, Lighting Designer: Tim Mitchell, Sound Designer: Fergus O'Hare, Cast: Annette Badland, Michael Garner, Gawn Grainger, Jonathan Guy Lewis, Chloe Newsome, Imogen Stubbs and Ian Talbot.

In 1959 a young Cambridge graduate started as a reporter for the Guardian and a new theatre club opened in Hampstead with a passion for new writing. The two came together in 1975 when Michael Frayn's Alphabetical Order opened at Hampstead Theatre, proving an instant hit for audiences and critics alike. It is a fitting tribute to Frayn's long association with Hampstead that his award-winning comedy is to be revived, directed by Christopher Luscombe, as part of the 50th Anniversary celebrations. Alphabetical Order, featuring Imogen Stubbs, opens at Hampstead Theatre on 21 April, with previews from 16 April.

A provincial newspaper office in the 1970s - and another day of chaos in the cuttings library. Files all over the floor, phones left ringing. And where is Lucy, the librarian...? Her life (when she finally arrives), and the lives of the journalists who take refuge in their muddled retreat, turn out to be as confused as the library itself. Into this comfortable little world steps Lesley, Lucy's new assistant. She's young, bright, and she wants system and order. She wants things to change.

Michael Frayn began his career as a reporter on the Guardian and quickly became a columnist, known for his witty and sharply satirical writing style. He has written many novels and is one of the UK's most respected translators of Chekhov, but he is perhaps best known for his extensive catalogue of plays, which includes: Clouds (Hampstead Theatre 1976), Donkeys' Years (1976), Make and Break (1980), Noises Off (1982), Benefactors (1984), Copenhagen (1998), Democracy (2003) and Afterlife (2008). Alphabetical Order transferred to the West End after its hugely successful opening at Hampstead, and won the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy.

Christopher Luscombe directs at Hampstead for the first time. He recently directed The Merry Wives of Windsor at Shakespeare's Globe and his production of Alan Bennett's Enjoy is currently playing at the Gielgud, starring Alison Steadman.