Joining Marina Sirtis (Star Trek: The Next Generation) as she makes her West End debut are theatre titans Jacqueline King (Doctor Who, BBC; Spring Storm, National Theatre) and Simon Thorp (Hard Sun, BBC; Royal Shakespeare Company), esteemed actor and LQBTQ+ campaigner Sophie Ward (Young Sherlock Holmes, Amblin Entertainment; Jane Eyre, BBC Films) alongside one of the most exciting up and coming UK actors Kwaku Mills (good dog, UK Tour; The End of Eddy, UK Tour). Stage and screen star Mark Gatiss (Sherlock and League of Gentlemen, BBC; The Madness of George III, Nottingham Playhouse) will be lending his voice to the part of Kosley, a hysterical talking computer, in this world premiere of Dark Sublime.
Oli arrives at the door of Marianne, a fading jobbing actress. He’s impatient to make an impression, to make a friend. Marianne knows about waiting – for her turn at something more substantial than a half-remembered role on a cult TV show, for her best friend to see her differently. As Oli forces her back into the past, and a strange, outrageous world she hasn’t visited in almost 40 years, Marianne must find her own way into the future. Together they begin to discover what every good relationship needs: time and space.
Directed by Andrew Keates (As Is and Dessa Rose, Trafalgar Studios), Dark Sublime boldly explores the complexities of relationships, especially in the LGBTQ community. Considering what later life is like for older gay women as well as the next generation, it contrasts bittersweet lived experiences with real humour.
This thrilling debut play by Michael Dennis is a theatrical love-letter to British sci-fi television which examines the feeling of belonging that comes with finding your place among the outcasts. Fans will do anything for their heroes, but what if your biggest fan is your closest companion?
Keates comments, “I’m so glad to be coming home to Trafalgar Studios after having such an extraordinary time directing both As Is and Dessa Rose. Now we bring a brand new play from a debut playwright that gives a stage for mature women and modern LGBT issues with a cast that is truly out of this world.”
Dark Sublime is at Trafalgar Studios 25th June to 3rd August 2019.
