Shuler Hensley to Lead Theatre Royal Bath's THE WHALE

By: Mar. 14, 2018
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Shuler Hensley to Lead Theatre Royal Bath's THE WHALE

Theatre Royal Bath today announces award-winning Broadway actor Shuler Hensley will star in the UK premiere of Samuel D.Hunter's The Whale at the Ustinov Studio this spring. Hensley originated the role of Charlie when the play first opened in New York in 2012, where it subsequently won multiple awards including the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Play and Drama Desk Special Award for Significant Contribution to Theatre. The production will run from 26 April to 2 June*, with opening night for press on 3 May.

Directed by the Ustinov Studio's Artistic Director Laurence Boswell, the play is the huge-hearted and fiercely funny story of a father's final chance at salvation, and of finding hope and beauty in the most unexpected places.

Charlie, a reclusive online writing instructor, lives marooned on a couch. Weighing in at six hundred pounds, he is slowly eating himself to death. But redemption may be within reach as he tries to reconnect with his estranged, sharp-tongued daughter as a conveyor belt of visitors - welcome and otherwise - move through his living room. Can any of them help him to see a future?

Shuler Hensley won both the Olivier Award and Tony Award for his role as Jud Fry in Oklahoma, starring alongside Hugh Jackman. His Broadway theatre credits include No Man's Land / Waiting for Godot (Cort Theatre), Young Frankenstein (Hilton Theatre), Tarzan (Richard Rodgers Theatre) and Les Miserables(Imperial Theatre). Most recently Shuler starred in the original West End production of Young Frankenstein (Garrick Theatre).

Laurence Boswell is an Olivier Award winner, Artistic Director of the Ustinov Studio and an Associate Artist of the RSC. His recent productions include The Mentor, A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Theatre Royal's Main House, and Trouble in Mind, The Mother, Intimate Apparel and The Spanish Golden Age Season in the Ustinov Studio.

Samuel D.Hunter's playwriting credits include A Bright New Boise (Obie Award, Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), The Few, A Great Wilderness, Rest, Pocatello, Lewiston, Clarkston, and most recently, The Healing and The Harvest.



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