Soul
A new play by Roy Williams
Directed by James Dacre
Royal & Derngate, Northampton – Friday 20 May to Saturday 11 June; Press Night: Tuesday 24 May 7pm
Hackney Empire – Wednesday 15 June to Sunday 3 July
Cast, creative and choirs announced for Roy Williams’Soul
This summer, Royal & Derngate Northampton and Hackney Empire will co-produce the world première of Soul, a new play by Roy Williams about the family life of soul legend Marvin Gaye. Directed by James Dacre and designed by Jon Bausor, Soul takes to Northampton’s Royal stage from Friday 20 May to Saturday 11 June, before its run at Hackney Empire from Wednesday 15 June to Sunday 3 July.
Full cast: Adjoa Andoh, Leo Wringer, Petra Letang, Mimi Ndiweni, Nathan Ives-Moira, Keenan Munn-Francis, Abiona Omonua.
On April Fool’s Day 1984, hours before his 45th birthday, Marvin Gaye was shot dead by his father in the shared family home they called the ‘Big House’. What happened there has since been shrouded in mystery.
Revealing the events that took place during Marvin Gaye’s haunting final days and exploring his extraordinary life, Soul is a parable about an American family crushed by fame – a searing portrait of the dark side of the American dream.
Written by award-winning Roy Williams (Sucker Punch, Days of Significance) in close collaboration with members of Marvin Gaye’s family, this play with music will feature Royal & Derngate’s and Hackney Empire’s celebrated community choirs. Original instrumental music has additionally been composed and recorded for the production by Marvin Gaye’s close musical collaborator Gordon Banks, widely considered to be one of soul music’s great guitarists.
Adjoa Andoh (Invictus, Adulthood, Julius Caesar, RSC) and Leo Wringer (As You Like It, National Theatre; Blackta, Perseverance Drive, Young Vic) play the central roles of Marvin’s parents, Alberta and Marvin Gay Snr.
Petra Letang (Holby City, EastEnders and leading roles at the National Theatre, Royal Court and Young Vic) and Mimi Ndiweni (Mr Selfridge; Warner Bros’ The Legend of Tarzan; Wendy and Peter, Taming of the Shrew, RSC) will play Marvin Gaye’s sisters Jeanne and Zeola Gay.
Rising stars Nathan Ives-Moiba (As You Like It, National Theatre; Our Country’s Good, Out of Joint) and Keenan Munn-Francis (The Scottsboro Boys, The Lion King) play the role of Marvin Gaye as an adult and teenager respectively. Abiona Omonua (The Colour Purple, Menier Chocolate Factory;Legally Blonde, West End) will play Tammi Terrell.
Soul is directed by Royal & Derngate’s Artistic Director James Dacre, whose recent productions include Peter Whelan’s The Herbal Bed, Dawn King’s Brave New World, Arthur Miller’s The Hookand Shakespeare’s King John. The Designer is RSC Associate Artist Jon Bausor, who designed the opening ceremony of the 2012 Paralympic Games and the critically acclaimed historic trilogy The James Plays for National Theatre of Scotland and the National Theatre. Video design is by BAFTA-winning Tal Rosner, whose credits include The BRIT Awards, The Pet Shop Boys’ The Most Incredible Thing, Everyman (National Theatre) and X (Royal Court). Lighting design is by Mark Howland (The Christians, Gate Theatre; Four Minutes Twelve Seconds, Hampstead Theatre) and sound design is by Fergus O’Hare (Tiger Country, Hampstead Theatre; Richard II, Hamlet, The Entertainer, Old Vic).
Anna Morrissey (Constellations, Royal Court; King Charles III, Almeida and West End) is Movement Director, RC-Annie (Cleansed, National Theatre; The James Plays, National Theatre of Scotland and National Theatre) are Fight Directors and Hazel Holder (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Les Blancs, National Theatre) is Voice and Dialect Coach.
The Musical Director is Joseph Roberts (Rudy’s Rare Records, Birmingham Rep and Hackney Empire) and the production features the Royal & Derngate Community Choir in its Northampton performances and the Hackney Empire Community Choir for its London run.
Soul was commissioned by Bob Blagden and Barbara Cole. The play was inspired by Jeanne Gay’s memoir Bitter Sweet, interviews with Jeanne and Zeola Gay amongst many others and further extensive research.
The production is recommended ages 14 and upwards.
#UntoldSoul