Simon-Anthony Rhoden and Everal A Walsh Join FENCES UK Tour Cast
Fences will open at Leeds Playhouse from Friday 11 - Saturday 26 September, before touring.
Headlong has announced further casting for their brand new production of August Wilson's Fences, touring the UK this autumn. Simon-Anthony Rhoden (Gone - ITV, The Harder They Come - Stratford East) will join the company as Gabriel and Everal A Walsh (Small Island - UK tour, Through It All Together - Leeds Playhouse) as Jim Bono.
They join the previously announced Ray Fearon (Othello - RSC, Fleabag - BBC, Coronation Street - ITV) as Troy, Madeline Appiah (In the Long Run - Sky, The Winter's Tale - RSC, Tina Turner The Musical - West End) as Rose, Michael Ahomka-Lindsay (Choir Boy - Theatre Royal Stratford East & Bristol Old Vic, Cabaret - Kit Kat Club, Playhouse Theatre) as Lyons and Josh Tedeku (Boarders - BBC, Supacell - Netflix) as Cory.
Fences will be directed by award-winning director Daniel Bailey (Red Pitch). It is a co-production with Leeds Playhouse, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and HOME Manchester, marking the first major revival in over a decade of this American blockbuster.
Fences will open at Leeds Playhouse from Friday 11 - Saturday 26 September, before touring to Headlong Associate Partner Oxford Playhouse (Wed 30 Sep - Sat 3 Oct), Lyric Hammersmith Theatre (Tue 6 - Sat 31 Oct), HOME Manchester (Tue 3 - Sat 7 Nov), and Nottingham Playhouse (Tue 10 - Sat 14 Nov).
The creative team for Fences includes Set & Costume Designer Lily Arnold, Composer and Sound Designer Khalil Madovi, Lighting Designer Jai Morjaria, Movement Director Shelley Maxwell, Fight Director Kev McCurdy, Design Associate Emily King, Casting Director Heather Basten CDG, Voice and Dialect Aundrea Fudge and Associate Director Amber Ruby.
About Fences
From August Wilson, one of one of America's most influential 20th century writers, this landmark play is a story of ambition for our time, exploring ever-present themes including masculinity, motherhood, music and the abiding hope for a different future. Troy Maxson has cheated death once, but the past keeps closing in. On Pittsburgh's streets, he cracks jokes and spins stories, yet at home, the pressure is building. His wife, Rose holds the family together. She sees a changing world and hopes their son Cory might step into it with more freedom than Troy ever had. But when dreams collide, and tempers flare, the Maxson's edge towards a reckoning that could reshape everything they know.
Headlong Executive Director, Lisa Maguire said: “It means so much to be putting August Wilson's work front and centre for audiences across the country. This extraordinary play encompasses so much of what drives us at Headlong - breathing new life into work that deserves its place in the canon, whilst asking our audiences to think and feel deeply about the world we share.
“Despite being written over 40 years ago, the central themes are still all too resonant today. From the streets of Pittsburgh to our own backyard here in the UK - how much can we say has really changed? We're thrilled to be working with Daniel on his take on this classic."
