Casting announced for 2017 UK Tour of Frantic Assembly’s critically acclaimed Things I Know To Be True

A Frantic Assembly and State Theatre Company South Australia production
Originally produced in collaboration with Warwick Arts Centre in association with Chichester Festival Theatre and the Lyric Hammersmith

THINGS I KNOW TO BE TRUE

  • CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR 2017 UK TOUR OF FRANTIC ASSEMBLY’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED HIT PLAY THINGS I KNOW TO BE TRUE
  • MATTHEW BARKER AND KIRSTY OSWALD TO RETURN TO THE PRODUCTION, ALONGSIDE NEW CAST MEMBERS CATE HAMER, SELINE HIZLI, JOHN MCARDLE AND ARTHUR WILSON

Full casting has been announced for Frantic Assembly and State Theatre Company South Australia’s critically acclaimed Things I Know To Be True ahead of its return to the UK from 27 September 2017.

Original UK cast members, Matthew Barker and Kirsty Oswald, return to reprise their roles as Mark and Rosie respectively. Joining them in the company will be Cate Hamer as Fran, Seline Hizli as Pip, John McArdle as Bob and Arthur Wilson as Ben.

As beautifully touching as it is funny and bold, Andrew Bovell’s Things I Know To Be True tells the story of a family and marriage through the eyes of four grown siblings struggling to define themselves beyond their parents’ love and expectations.

Featuring Frantic Assembly’s celebrated physicality, and co-directed by Frantic Assembly’s Tony and Olivier Award nominated Artistic Director Scott Graham and State Theatre Company’s Artistic Director Geordie BrookmanThings I Know To Be True is a complex and intense study of the mechanics of a family that is both poetic and brutally frank.

The production will tour to the Oxford PlayhouseThe Lowry in Salford, Leicester CurveMercury Theatre in Colchester, York Theatre RoyalChester StoryhouseNuffield SouthamptonThe Lighthouse in Poole and Lyric Hammersmith.

Matthew Barker reprises the role of Mark from the 2016 UK tour of Things I Know To Be True. Matthew trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. His theatre work includes Sweet Bird of Youth (Chichester Festival Theatre), Good People (Hampstead Theatre & Noel Coward Theatre) and Much Ado About Nothing (Derby LIVE). For the National Theatre he has appeared in Husbands and Sons, NT50, 13, Emperor & Galilean, Hamlet and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (also Gielgud Theatre). His work on television includes The Lost Honour of Christopher JefferiesDoctors, EastEndersJericho: The Killing of Johnny Swan and No Angels.

Cate Hamer plays Fran. With extensive credits across stage and television, her theatre work include Machinal (National Theatre), The Love of the Nightingale, Mary & Lizzie, The Tempest (RSC), Dona Rosita, The Tower, Volpone (Almeida Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe Tour),  A Bed Amongst the Lentils (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Indian Ink (Salisbury Playhouse), Scenes From An Execution (Hackney Empire Studio), A Christmas Carol and Crime and Punishment (Glasgow Citizens) amongst many others. Her television credits include Eastenders, Holby City, The Town, Doctors, The Bill, Coronation Street, When I’m 64, Casualty, Inspector Lynley and Without Motive.

Seline Hizli plays Pip. Seline trained at RADA. Perhaps best known for playing Margaret in ITV’s Grantchester, her other television credits include Land Girls, Appropriate AdultCall the Midwife, Luther and Mum. Seline’s theatre credits include One Night in NovemberBlood Wedding (Royal & Derngate), The House of Bernarda Alba (Almeida Theatre), Jumpy (Royal Court & Duke of York’s Theatre), The Republic of Happiness (Royal Court), Dirty Butterfly (Young Vicand Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Playhouse Theatre).

John McArdle plays Bob. With credits across stage and screen from the past 37 years, John is known best for his work on telelvision, including the roles of Billy Corkhill in Brookside and Ronnie Hale in Emmerdale. Other screen credits include Mersey Beat, New Tricks, Waterloo Road, Prime Suspect 5, Waking the Dead, Law and Order UK, Vera, Casualty and Holby City amongst others. His extensive theatre credits include Lennon (Liverpool Everyman), Our Country’s Good (Liverpool Playhouse), The Crucible (Sheffield Crucible), Brassed Off (York Theatre Royal & UK Tour), The Arbour (National Theatre), with film credits including There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble, Charlie Noades R.I.P, Through My Eyes and The Rochdale Pioneers. For BBC Radio 4, his work includes A Clockwork Orange, The Spire, King of the Hill, and Stockport, So Good They Named It Once. John has also written and published his autobiography titled You Never Said Goodbye.

Kirsty Oswald plays Rosie. Her previous work with Frantic Assembly has included Desdemona in Othello and last year’s production of Things I Know to Be True (UK Tour). Other theatre credits include The Father (Duke of York’s Theatre), The Judas Kiss (Hampstead Theatre &  Duke of York’s Theatre), The Winter’s Tale (Sheffield Crucible) and We Are Proud To Present… (Bush Theatre). Her television credits include The CoronerBeowulfRipper Street, Holby City and Doctors, and film credits include GutterdammerungA Little Chaos and Dirty Weekend. She has also worked extensively across BBC Radio. Training at Rose Bruford, she won the prestigious Highly Commended Award at the Spotlight Prize.

Arthur Wilson plays Ben. His theatre work includes Man and Superman (National Theatre), Richard II (Shakespeare’s Globe), Home – Edinburgh (National Theatre of Scotland), Peter Pan (Kensington Gardens, 02 & US Tour), Persuasion (Manchester Royal Exchange), The Crunch (Look Left Look Right), Project Space (Secret Cinema) and The Borrowers (Citizens Theatre). His television credits include Call The MidwifeLaw and Order,20 AnythingThe Academy and Sea of Souls.

LISTINGS

27 – 30 September 
Oxford Playhouse
11-12 Beaumont Street, Oxford, OX1 2LW
01865 305 305
www.oxfordplayhouse.com

3 – 7 October
The Lowry (Quays Theatre)
Pier 8, The Quays, Salford, M50 3AZ
0843 208 6000
www.thelowry.com

10 – 14 October
Leicester Curve
60 Rutland St, Leicester LE1 1SB
0116 242 3595
www.curveonline.co.uk

17 – 21 October 
Mercury Theatre, Colchester
Colchester CO1 1PT
01206 573948
www.mercurytheatre.co.uk

31 October – 4 November
York Theatre Royal
St Leonard’s Pl, York YO1 7HD
01904 623568
www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

7 – 11 November
Chester Storyhouse
Hunter St, Chester CH1 2AR
01244 409113
www.storyhouse.com

14 – 18 November
Nuffield Southampton
University Rd, Southampton SO17 1TR
023 8067 1771
www.nstheatres.co.uk

21 – 25 November
The Lighthouse, Poole
21 Kingland Rd, Poole BH15 1UG
01202 280000
www.lighthousepoole.co.uk

11 January – 3 February 2018
Lyric Hammersmith
Lyric Square, King Street, London, W6 0QL
020 8741 6850
www.lyric.co.uk

Running time approx 2 hours, including an interval
Contains strong language
Suitable for ages 14+