Sasha Frost and Fred Fergus will star as Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth respectively in Jeff James and James Yeatman’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, opening at Rose Theatre on 3 March 2022, with previews from 26 February and running until 19 March 2022.
The production will then run at Alexandra Palace from 7 to 30 April 2022, followed by Oxford Playhouse from 4 to 14 May 2022. This is a Rose Original and Alexandra Palace production in association with Oxford Playhouse.
Sasha Frost’s recent theatre credits include Folk (Hampstead Theatre), Red Dust Road (National Theatre of Scotland), Cherry Orchard and All My Sons (Nottingham Playhouse) and The Lightning Child (Shakespeare’s Globe). Her television credits include His Dark Materials. Fred Fergus’s recent theatre credits include Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (Rose Theatre, UK Tour, Harold Pinter Theatre), Lava (Nottingham Playhouse) and Julius Caesar (The Bridge Theatre). His film credits include Wonder Woman.
Sasha Frost and Fred Fergus are joined in the cast by Matilda Bailes as Elizabeth/Louisa, Grace Cookey-Gam as Lady Russell/Mrs Croft, Helen Cripps as Mary, Adam Deary as Edmund Hayter/ Captain Benwick/Mr Elliot, Emilio Doorgasingh as Sir Walter/Admiral Croft, Caroline Moroney as Mrs Clay/Henrietta and Dorian Simpson as Charles.
Featuring a soundtrack of Frank Ocean, Dua Lipa and Cardi B, Jane Austen’s classic romantic comedy is riotously reimagined for the twenty-first century.
In this captivating adaptation, Jeff James and James Yeatman retain the quick wit and scandal of Austen’s novel but switch Regency ballrooms for neon lights to present this 19th-century romance as you’ve never seen it before.
When Frederick Wentworth proposed to Anne Elliot eight years ago, he was undistinguished with no prospects, only able to offer his love and ambition. Persuaded out of accepting his proposal by her family, Anne has never quite got over her first love.
But now Wentworth is back. Rich, successful, single and handsome, the now decorated naval Captain has become a serious catch. When circumstances bring the two face to face again, Anne’s forced to confront her past and face up to her choices.
Persuasion is directed by Jeff James, with design by Alex Lowde, lighting design by Lucy Carter, music and sound design by Ben & Max Ringham, movement by Morgann Runacre-Temple and dramaturgy by James Yeatman. The assistant director is Layla Madanat, the recipient of Rose Theatre’s 2021 Peter Hall Emerging Artists Fellowship.
