Zoë to star in 60th anniversary revival of Pinter's The Birthday Party

12 September 2017 22:56

Zoë's next theatre production has been announced – and it's very exciting! She's set to star in a 2018 West End revival of Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party, celebrating the classic play's 60th anniversary. Appropriately enough, the show will be staged at the theatre named after the renowned playwright. Zoë's co-stars are Toby Jones and Stephen Mangan (you'll find great cast photos on Facebook).

As the production's official website makes clear, The Birthday Party's plot is dark and intriguing: 'Stanley Webber (Toby Jones) is the only lodger at Meg (Zoë Wanamaker) and Petey Boles' sleepy seaside boarding house. The unsettling arrival of enigmatic strangers Goldberg (Stephen Mangan) and McCann disrupts the humdrum lives of the inhabitants and their friend Lulu, and mundanity soon becomes menace when a seemingly innocent birthday party turns into a disturbing nightmare.'

Produced by Sonia Friedman and directed by Ian Rickson (who've been behind a number of critically acclaimed productions of Pinter's work), the revival will mark the second time Zoë has performed The Birthday Party. She originally appeared in the play as Lulu during a British Council Far East Tour early in her career, in 1972.

The news of what the Guardian calls '[a] star-studded new West End production' has attracted plenty of attention in the theatre press, with articles by The Stage, Whatsonstage.com, Broadway.com, BroadwayWorld.com and more. In addition, BBC Radio 4's Today programme has aired an interview with Toby Jones and Pinter's widow, Lady Antonia Fraser, about the play's enduring appeal.

The Birthday Party runs at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 9 January to 14 April 2018, with its opening night on 18 January. Tickets are available now and being snapped up, so it's a good idea to book early if possible.

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