Full Cast Set For Tanika Gupta's HEDDA at Orange Tree Theatre

With Chiara Atik’s Poor Clare having come to a close and Strindberg’s Creditors preparing to take to the stage, Orange Tree Theatre has announced the full cast for Tanika Gupta’s Hedda. Joining the previously announced Pearl Chanda are Joe Bannister, Bebe Cave, Rina Fatania, Caroline Harker, Jake Mann and Milo Twomey.

Directed by Hettie Macdonald, Hedda opens at Orange Tree Theatre on 27 October, with previews from 18 October and runs until 22 November.

Hettie Macdonald said, “I’m thrilled to be working with such an exceptional cast on Hedda. Each of these actors will bring immense depth and insight to Tanika’s bold reimagining, and I’m excited to begin the journey with them as we bring this story to the Orange Tree stage.”

London, 1948. The war is over, India is newly independent, and Hedda Gabler has retired: early, elegantly, and with secrets. Once a Hollywood star, now the wife of rising British film director George Tesman, Hedda lives in Chelsea, hiding behind drawn curtains. But the past is beginning to stir.

Her husband is asking questions. An old colleague has written a screenplay that cuts too close to the truth. And there’s a powerful producer in town: and he never takes no for an answer.

Inspired by the story of Anglo-Indian screen legend Merle Oberon, Hedda is a bold new version of Henrik Ibsen’s classic drama about blackmail, secrecy and power.

Biographies

Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) was a Norwegian playwright. His principal works include Brand, Peer Gynt, Emperor and Galilean, A Doll’s House, Ghosts, The Wild Duck, Rosmersholm, The Lady from the Sea, Hedda Gabler, The Master Builder, John Gabriel Borkman, and When We Dead Awaken.

Tanika Gupta is a British playwright and screenwriter. Her credits include A Tupperware of Ashes, Sanctuary, The Good Woman of Setzuan, The Waiting Room (National Theatre), The Empress (RSC, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre), Great Expectations (Watford Palace Theatre, Royal Exchange Theatre, ETT), Lions and Tigers, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Overseas Student, A Doll’s House (Lyric Hammersmith Theatre), Mirror on the Moor, Catch, Sugar Mummies (Royal Court Theatre), Red Dust Road (Edinburgh International Festival), A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian (Hull Truck), Anita and Me, Love ‘N Stuff, Broad (Stratford East), Mindwalking (UK tour), Dreaming by Day (Unicorn Theatre), 2 Young 2 Luv (Birmingham Rep), Meet the Mukherjees (Bolton Octagon), Gladiator Games (Sheffield Theatres, Stratford East), Hobson’s Choice (Young Vic, Royal Exchange Theatre) and Fragile Land (Hampstead Theatre). Her television credits include The Bill, Crossroads, All About Me, Eastenders, Grange Hill, London Bridge and Flight; and for film Bideshi, The Fiancée and Non-Resident. Her play The Empress and her adaptation of Ibsen's A Doll's House are also both included on the GCSE curriculum.

Pearl Chanda plays Hedda. Her theatre credits include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Three Sisters, INK (Almeida Theatre), The Harmony Test, Sea Creatures, Godchild (Hampstead Theatre), The House of Bernarda Alba (National Theatre),The White Factory (Marylebone Theatre), The Taxidermist's Daughter (Chichester Festival Theatre), One For Sorrow (Royal Court Theatre), Julie (Northern Stage), The Glass Menagerie (Nuffield Theatre), The Angry Brigade (Bush Theatre), Crave, 4.48 Psychosis (Sheffield Theatres), Two Gentlemen of Verona (RSC) and The Seagull (Headlong Theatre). Her television credits include Mary & George, War of the Worlds, I May Destroy You, McDonald and Dodds, Motherland, Endeavour, and Arthur and George; and for film, See How They Run, Marionette, The Final Haunting, Mr Turner, Monster Heart, Only the Lonely, and The Big Return of Ray Lamere.

Joe Bannister plays George Tesman. His stage credits include The Da Vinci Code (Mercury Theatre, Colchester),The Confessions, Trouble in Mind, As You Like It (National Theatre), The Contingency Plan (Sheffield Theatres), The Watsons (Menier Chocolate Factory, Chichester Festival Theatre), Ramona Tells Jim (Bush Theatre), Wild Honey (Hampstead Theatre), Hobson’s Choice (Vaudeville Theatre), King John (Rose Theatre), A Mad World My Masters, The Witch of Edmonton, The Arden of Faversham, The Roaring Girl, Titus Andronicus (RSC), Chariots of Fire (Hampstead Theatre, Gielgud Theatre), The Lion in Winter (Theatre Royal Haymarket), and Much Ado About Nothing (Cambridge Arts Theatre). His television credits include Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, This Sceptred Isle, Screw, Finding Alice, The Singapore Grip, Curfew, Howards End, and Endeavour; and for film, The Isle.

Bebe Cave plays Alice Smith. Her stage credits include The Screen Test, Cave Women (Soho Theatre), Holes, Bebe Cave: Christbride (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), and The Killing Moon (Theatre503). Her television credits include Dinosaur, This Time with Alan Partridge, Industry, Hang Ups, The Truth of Murder, Victoria, We Are Family, Harmony, Cider with Rosie, Frankie, Trying Again, Mrs Biggs, and May Contain Nuts; and for film, The Running Man, On Chesil Beach, The Tale of Tales, and Great Expectations.

Rina Fatania plays Shona. Her theatre credits include A Thousand Splendid Suns, Sheila’s Island, Anita and Me (UK Tour), The Buddha of Suburbia (RSC, The Barbican), Crazy For You (Gillian Lynne Theatre), The Killing of Sister George (New Vic Theatre), The Art of Illusion (Hampstead Theatre), Favour (Bush Theatre), Waking/Walking (Kiln Theatre), The Language of Kindness (Shoreditch Town Hall), The Man in the White Suit (Wyndham’s Theatre), Dead Dog in a Suitcase (Kneehigh Theatre), The Tin Drum (Kneehigh Theatre, UK tour), Approaching Empty (Live Theatre), The Village, Love N Stuff (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Oliver Twist (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Roller Diner (Soho Theatre), The Empress (RSC), The House of Bilquis Bibi (Hampstead Theatre), Britain’s Got Bhangra (Rifco Theatre), and Wuthering Heights (Lyric Hammersmith Theatre). Her television credits include Man Like Mobeen, Nolly, Too Close, People Just Do Nothing, Wanderlust, and MummyJi Presents.

Caroline Harker plays Aunt Julia. Her theatre credits include The Croft, Steel Magnolias, Things We Do For Love, Hidden Laughter (UK tours), The Children (Nottingham Playhouse), Breaking the Code, Relatively Speaking,Handbagged, The Sweet Science of Bruising (Salisbury Playhouse), The Chalk Garden (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Railway Children (King’s Cross Theatre, York Theatre Royal), Blithe Spirit (York Theatre Royal), Brideshead Revisited (English Touring Theatre), Pride and Prejudice (Regent’s Park Theatre), The Village Bike (Sheffield Crucible), Tusk Tusk (Royal Court Theatre), All Mouth (Menier Chocolate Factory), Entertaining Angels (Chichester Festival Theatre), Present Laughter (Bath Theatre Royal), Battle Royal (National Theatre), Falling (Hampstead Theatre), The Strip, The Editing Process (Royal Court Theatre), and The Mongrel’s Heart (Royal Lyceum Theatre). Her television credits include The Stolen Girl, Say Nothing, Joan, The Chemistry of Death, Slow Horses, New Tricks, The Commander, The Man Who Lost His Head, Margaret, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Foyle’s War, I Saw You, Armadillo, Kavanagh QC, Keeping Mum, A Dance to the Music of Time, Harry Enfield and Chums, Holding On, Moll Flanders, Honey for Tea, A Touch of Frost, Middlemarch, Riders, Chancer, Covington Cross, and Growing Rich; and for film, Tom’s Christmas Tree, Mothering Sunday, Lady Godiva: Back in the Saddle, Hans Christian Anderson, and The Madness of King George.

Jake Mann plays Leonard. His theatre credits include Operation Epsilon (Southwark Playhouse), Cymbeline, Richard II (RSC), Evolution (Soho Theatre), King Lear (Duke of York’s Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (RSC, Garsington Opera), Criminal Behaviour (White Bear Theatre), Titus Andronicus (Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre), and The Duke in Darkness (Chiswick Playhouse). His television credits include Smothered, The Gold, Britannia, Ripper Street, A Young Doctor’s Notebook and Other Stories, and Quick Cuts; and for film, American Assassin, Hunter Killer, and Benjamin Britten: Peace and Conflict.

Milo Twomey returns to the Orange Tree to play John Brack – he previously appeared in Winter Solstice. His theatre credits include Mary Poppins, Three Sisters (UK tours), Brief Encounter (UK and US tour) The Surprise of Love, The Phoenix of Madrid, The History Boys (Bath Theatre Royal), The Harmony Test, Possession (Arcola Theatre), Twelfth Night (Sheffield Theatres), Much Ado About Nothing (Royal Exchange), Dancing at Lughnasa (Royal and Derngate), Richard III (Nottingham Playhouse), Lady Windermere’s Fan, Harvey, The Children’s Hour, An Ideal Husband, She Stoops to Conquer, Blithe Spirit (Royal Exchange Theatre), The Canterbury Tales (RSC, Gielgud Theatre), and The Tempest (Southwark Playhouse). His television credits include Geek Girl, Marble Hall Murders; The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe; Four Lives, A Discovery of Witches, Avenue 5, MotherFatherSon, The Feed, Free Rein, Safe, Marcella, Kiri, War and Peace, No Offence, Informer, X Company, Tyrant, Band of Brothers, Silent Witness, My Spy Family, and P.O.W.; and for film, Damsel, Franklyn, The Jolly Boys' Last Stand, Cool Water, Thespian X, and Benjamin Britten: Peace and Conflict.