Cast Set For Alan Ayckbourn's A CHORUS OF DISAPPROVAL at Salisbury Playhouse

The cast has been announced for Wiltshire Creative's upcoming production of Alan Ayckbourn's A Chorus of Disapproval, completing their 2024 spring season. This production marks the 35th Alan Ayckbourn play that has been performed at Salisbury Playhouse. Artistic Director Gareth Machin directs Robert Bowman, Rebecca Cooper, Andy Cryer, Bessy Ewa, Olivia Forrest, Sasha Frost, Damian Humbley, Richard Hurst, Lloyd Notice, George Olney, Ben Stock, Georgina Sutton and Heather Williams. The production opens on 30 April 2024 at Salisbury Playhouse, with previews from 25 April, and runs until 18 May.

Gareth Machin, Artistic Director of Wiltshire Creative, said: “What a brilliant cast we have coming together for Alan Ayckbourn's glorious comedy A Chorus of Disapproval. I am thrilled to welcome back some familiar faces who have previously graced the Playhouse stage, as well as new ones, who are set to bring an Ayckbourn classic to our Salisbury audience.”

Cast: Robert Bowman (Dafydd Ap Llewellyn), Rebecca Cooper (Hannah Llewellyn), Andy Cryer (Jarvis Huntley-Pike), Bessy Ewa (Linda Washbrook), Olivia Forrest (Bridget Baines), Sasha Frost (Fay Hubbard), Damian Humbley (Guy Jones), Richard Hurst (Ian Hubbard), Lloyd Notice (Ted Washbrook), George Olney (Crispin Usher), Ben Stock (Mr Ames), Georgina Sutton (Rebecca Huntley-Pike) and Heather Williams (Enid Washbrook).

Director: Gareth Machin; In-House Producer: Alice Bezant; Designer: Olivia du Monceau; Lighting Designer: Nic Farman; Sound Designer: Elizabeth Purnell; Musical Director: Ben Stock; Costume Supervisor: Teri Buxton; Casting Director: Gabrielle Dawes CDG

Recently widowed Guy joins his local Amateur Light Operatic Society, in hope of finding new friends and meaning in his life but ends up with a lot more than he bargained for! In their upcoming production of The Beggar's Opera, Guy starts out playing a part with only one line, but his good looks and mild manners soon see him climb his way to the leading role.

Unable to say no to wine, women and song, Guy finds himself embroiled in a series of backhand deals, steamy affairs and pub brawls.

Ayckbourn's comedic genius comes to life in this award-winning show and promises to be a guaranteed night of blissful hilarity.

Alan Ayckbourn is one of the most widely performed living English language playwrights and a highly regarded theatre director. He is an Olivier, Tony and Molière Award-winning writer who has written over 80 full length plays, more than half of which have gone on to the West End. His contribution to theatre has been recognised with both the Olivier Special Award and a Special Tony Award.

Robert Bowman returns to Salisbury Playhouse to play Dafydd Ap Llewellyn – he previously appeared in The Tempest. His theatre credits include Twelfth Night, The Wives Excuse, The Broken Heart, The Comedy of Errors, The Prisoner's Dilemma, Love in the Wood (RSC), The Crucible (Gielgud Theatre), An Inspector Calls, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, The Oresteia, Ivanov, The Normal Heart (National Theatre), Grimm Tales, More Grimm Tales, As I Lay Dying, Twelfth Night (Young Vic) Spinning into Butter (Royal Court Theatre), The Odyssey, Cyrano De Bergerac (Bristol Old Vic), Diary of a Madman (international tour). His television credits include Richard III, Will and The Bastard Executioner; and for film, Say My Name, Can You Hear Me? and The Agent.

Rebecca Cooper returns to Salisbury Playhouse to play Hannah Llewellyn – she previously appeared in How the Other Half Loves, Snow White and the Happy Ever After Beauty Salon and Her Naked Skin. Her theatre credits include The Miracle (National Theatre), The Waltz of The Toreadors (Chichester Festival Theatre), and Shakespeare for Breakfast (Edinburgh Fringe). Her television credits include Being Human, The Scandalous Lady W, Man Down, Birds of a Feather, and The Little House; and for film, Forget me Not.

Andy Cryer plays Jarvis Huntley-Pike. His theatre credits include Constant Companions, Season's Greetings (Stephen Joseph Theatre), The Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare North Playhouse), Sleeping Beauty (Cast, Doncaster), Aladdin (White Rock Theatre), Jack Lear (Hull Truck), Hot Lane (Claybody Theatre), The Two Noble Kinsmen (Shakespeare's Globe), A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Winter's Tale, Othello, The Canterbury Tales (Northern Broadsides) and The Play What I Wrote (UK tour). His television credits include The Cure and Peak Practice; and for film, Fairytale – A True Story, To Kill a King, Red Riding Trilogy and Who Killed Daniel Morgan?.

Bessy Ewa plays Linda Washbrook. Her theatre credits include Beauty and the Beast (Sheffield Theatres), Great Expectations (Mercury Theatre), & Juliet (Shaftesbury Theatre) and Back to the Future (Adelphi Theatre). Her concert credits include Disney 100 (arena tour) and RTECO Presents 100 Years of Disney (RTÉ Concert Orchestra).

Damian Humbley returns to Salisbury Playhouse to play Guy Jones – he previously appeared in Hedda Gabler. His theatre credits include Old Friends (Gielgud Theatre), The Great British Bake Off Musical (Everyman Theatre Cheltenham & Noël Coward Theatre), Local Hero (Edinburgh Lyceum Theatre), Merrily We Roll Along (Huntington Theatre Company, Menier Chocolate Factory and Harold Pinter Theatre), Dickens Abridged (Arts Theatre), Company (Sheffield Theatres), Lend Me A Tenor (Plymouth Theatre Royal and Gielgud Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (Menier Chocolate Factory, UK tour), Fiddler on the Roof (Sheffield Theatres, Savoy Theatre) and The Last 5 Years (Menier Chocolate Factory).

Richard Hurst returns to Salisbury Playhouse to play Ian Hubbard – he previously appeared in Worst Wedding Ever, Dick Whittington and His Cat. His theatre credits include The Lion King, Sunny Afternoon (UK tours), The Duchess of Malfi, The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich (RSC), The Bodyguard (international tour), Jane Eyre (National Theatre), My Night With Reg (Apollo Theatre), Around The World in 80 Days (Chipping Norton Theatre) and Little Shop of Horrors (Aberystwyth).

Olivia Forrest plays Bridget Baines. Her theatre credits include Much Ado About Nothing (National Theatre) and Two into One (The Mill at Sonning).

Sasha Frost plays Fay Hubbard. Her theatre credits include Noises Off (Phoenix Theatre), Folk (Hampstead Theatre), Persuasion (Rose Theatre), Sunnymead Court (Arcola Theatre), Red Dust Road (National Theatre of Scotland/HOME), Our Country's Good (Tobacco Factory), Time is Love/Tiempo Es Amor (Finborough Theatre), The Cherry Orchard, All My Sons (Nottingham Playhouse), The Lightning Child (Shakespeare's Globe), Gutted (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Suspension (Bristol Old Vic), Kick-off (Riverside Studios), and The Fifth Column and The Canterville Ghost (Southwark Playhouse). Her television credits include The Outlaws, His Dark Materials, Defending the Guilty, Sunny D, Agatha Raisin, Frankie and Garrow's Law; and for film, The Salt Path, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Remainder, Host, Anti-Social and FIT.

Lloyd Notice returns to Salisbury Playhouse to play Ted Washbrook – he previously appeared in The Tempest. His theatre credits include Chase the Musical (The Other Palace Theatre), Father Christmas (Lyric Hammersmith Theatre), A Midsummer Nights Dream (Northcott), Happiness Ltd (Northcott/UK tour), Romeo and Juliet (Liverpool Playhouse), Twelfth Night (Mercury Theatre), Moby Dick, King Lear and The Country Wife (RSC), Dr Livingston I Presume (Riverside Studios), Othello (Bury St Edmunds & international tour), The Lion King (Lyceum Theatre), Butterfly Lion and Grace (UK tours), The Men Who Would Like to Be King and Agamemnon (international tours). His television credits include The Burning Girls, Respectable Trade, The Final Passage and The Wild House; and for film, Long Live The King.

George Olney returns to Salisbury Playhouse to play Crispin Usher - he previously appeared in Cinderella. His theatre credits include Beauty and the Beast, Grease, Top Hat (UK tours), Mamma Mia! (Novello Theatre), Aladdin (Corn Exchange), Saturday Night Fever (UK and international tour), Fiddler on the Roof (Playhouse Theatre), Starlight Express (Starlighthalle, Bochum) and Children of Eden (Prince of Wales Theatre).

Ben Stock plays Mr Ames. His theatre credits include Gypsy, Hello, Dolly!, Lady Windermere's Fan, Sherlock Holmes, Single Spies (Pitlochry Festival Theatre), Stepping Out, Our Gracie (Coliseum Theatre, Oldham), Glorious, Tomfoolery, Charley's Aunt (Frinton Summer Theatre), Grease (Cambridge Theatre), Dame Edna The Spectacle (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (London Palladium), and Beauty and the Beast, Salad Days, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Noël and Gertie (UK tours). His television credits include The Tale of Mr Tumble.

Georgina Sutton returns to Salisbury Playhouse to play Rebecca Huntley-Pike – she previously appeared in The Tempest and Her Naked Skin. Her theatre credits include Larkin with Women (Esk Valley Theatre), Handbagged (English Theatre Frankfurt), Goodnight Mister Tom (Chichester Festival Theatre, Duke of York's Theatre, UK tour), Macbeth (Mercury Theatre), Stepping Out (Devonshire Park, Eastbourne), Closer, The Diary of Anne Frank (Palace Theatre), Broken Glass, Hay Fever, Popcorn, Dancing at Lughnasa, Habeas Corpus (Civic Theatre), White Rose (Latchmere), Arms and the Man (Greenwich Studio), Spike (Battersea Arts Centre) and Blood & Ice (Young Vic); and for film, The Gallery and Homecoming.

Heather Williams returns to Salisbury Playhouse to play Enid Washbrook - she previously appeared in Up Down Boy and Up Down Man. Her theatre credits include If You Fall (Ad Infinitum), A Midsummer Night's Dream, Our Country's Good, The Love I Feel is Red (Tobacco Factory Theatre), and Sleeping Beauty, Up the Feeder Down the Mouth, Under Milk Wood, Blythe Spirit, An Enemy of the People, Yerma, Epsom Downs, and Romeo and Juliet (Bristol Old Vic).

Gareth Machin directs. Machin is the Artistic Director of Wiltshire Creative. Previously, he was studio associate at The National Theatre, Artistic Director of Southwark Playhouse and associate director at Bristol Old Vic.  

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