Nathalie Harrison to Join Jesse Tyler Ferguson in TRU at Menier Chocolate Factory

The Menier Chocolate Factory has announced that Nathalie Harrison will join multi-award-winning Jesse Tyler Ferguson in Jay Presson Allen's play Tru to complete the run – she takes over from Charlotte d'Amboise as The Swan. Directed by the award-winning Rob Ashford, Tru opened to critical acclaim last month, and runs until 14 November.

Drawn entirely from Capote's own words, Tru was originally staged in 1989. Ashford, Ferguson and d'Amboise collaborated on this new production in March at House of the Redeemer's Library in New York City.

It's December 1975 and Truman Capote is alone in his New York apartment, reeling from a crisis that cost him friendship of the elite social circle he adored. Drawn entirely from Capote's own words, this funny and heartbreaking play is an unflinching portrait of an artist at his breaking point, confronting the consequences of his most scandalous work.

Biographies

Jesse Tyler Ferguson is a Tony-Award winning actor, author, producer and host known not only for his creative work but, for his ongoing advocacy in the LGBTQIA+ community. On stage, Ferguson is currently playing King Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar at The London Palladium; and recently made his West End debut starring in Stephen Sondheim's final work, Here We Are, at The National Theatre. This past summer he helped reopen NYC's famed Delacorte Theatre in Central Park with a star-studded production of Twelfth Night. For his turn as accountant Mason Marzac in the revival of Richard Greenberg's Tony-winning play Take Me Out, he earned a Tony Award in the category of Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play. The acclaimed performance also earned him the Outer Critics Circle Award and a Drama League Distinguished Performance Award nomination.

Ferguson currently serves as producer and host of the podcast Dinner's on Me, now in its third season from Sony Music Entertainment. He was featured in Universal's Cocaine Bear directed by Elizabeth Banks, and his scripted podcast Gay Pride & Prejudice was released exclusively on Spotify. Ferguson also produced the documentary Broadway Rising which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2022. In addition, Ferguson served as an executive producer on David France's BAFTA-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary, Welcome to Chechnya, based on the anti-gay purges in Chechnya of the late 2010s. Ferguson also released his first cookbook in 2021, Food Between Friends.

Ferguson starred as the widely beloved character Mitchell Pritchett on the award-winning ABC comedy Modern Family, which ran for an impressive 11 seasons. The show earned five Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, a Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Comedy Series and four Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Ferguson has also received five Emmy Award nominations and four People's Choice Award nominations on behalf of the show.

Ferguson made his Broadway debut at the age of 21 as Chip in George C. Wolfe's revival of On the Town. He later went on to originate the role of Leaf Coneybear in the Tony Award—winning Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He has also worked extensively with The New York Public Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park in various notable productions.

A longstanding advocate for marriage equality and LGBTQIA+ rights, Ferguson co-founded Pronoun, previously known as Tie the Knot, in 2012 with his husband Justin Mikita. The organization has proudly raised over $1.5 million and has supported important and impactful LGBTQIA+ organisations across the nation.

Nathalie Harrison is a former dancer with The Royal Ballet, where she enjoyed a career spanning nearly 20 years, performing extensively on the world's leading stages in a wide range of classical and contemporary repertoire. Since leaving The Royal Ballet, Harrison has developed a diverse career as a creative producer, movement director and actor, working across theatre, music, concerts, film and live performance. In 2025, she produced the premiere of Quadrophenia: A Mod Ballet, created in collaboration with orchestrator Rachel Fuller and writer and musician Pete Townshend.

Nathalie made her stage acting debut in 2012 in Timon of Athens at The National Theatre, directed by Nick Hytner and starring Simon Russell Beale. Drawing on her extensive experience as a performer and her understanding of movement, storytelling and stagecraft, she continues to work across disciplines, collaborating with artists and creative teams on a wide range of projects for stage, screen and live performance.

Jay Presson Allen (1922-2006) was a playwright, novelist and screenwriter. Her first novel, Spring Riot, was published in 1948. Her plays include The First Wife which was turned into the 1963 film Wives and Lovers; and for television, Family and Hothouse. Her adaptations include The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – produced in the West End, on Broadway and on screen with Maggie Smith winning the Oscar for her role; Forty Carats – for which Julie Harris won a Tony Award and was later filmed; Travels With My Aunt directed by George Cukor and starring Maggie Smith; the film version of Cabaret, directed by Bob Fosse for which she received an Academy Award nomination; Marnie directed by Alfred Hitchock. She also wrote the screenplay for Funny Lady. She adapted her 1969 novel Just Tell Me What You Want for film director Sidney Lumet. They also collaborated on her adaptation of Robert Daley's novel Prince of the City, for which she was nominated for an Oscar, and the screen adaptation of Ira Levin's play Deathtrap.