Full casting is announced for the world premiere of East is South by Beau Willimon, which runs at Hampstead Theatre from 7 February to 15 March 2025, with a press night on Monday 17 February.
Joining the previously announced Kaya Scodelario and Cliff Curtis are Nathalie Armin, Aaron Gill, Alec Newman and Luke Treadaway.
Amongst Olivier Award-winning Luke Treadaway’s credits are The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and War Horse, (National Theatre) and most recently The Emcee in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. Alec Newman previously appeared at Hampstead Theatre in The Dumb Waiter, Uncle Vanya and Hapgood with recent credits including King Lear (Almeida) and Collaboration (Young Vic). Nathalie Armin’s credits include Alma Mater (Almeida), A Little Life (West End), Force Majeure (Donmar) and The Complaint (Hampstead Theatre) and Aaron Gill’s credits inclue The Empress (RSC) and Silence (Tara Theatre).
Kaya Scodelario, fresh from starring in Guy Ritchie’s The Gentleman and Senna, makes her stage debut in Beau Willimon’s tense thriller. Kaya won praise for her film roles in The Maze Runner and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales as well as her breakthrough role in the British teen TV series Skins.
Having appeared in some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters and also making his UK stage debut is New Zealand born actor Cliff Curtis. Amongst Cliff’s credits are Avatar: The Way of Water, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and The Dark Horse. He appears in the forthcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash and Last Breath and is also well known for his work on the award-winning films Whale Rider and Once Were Warriors plus the drama series Fear The Walking Dead.
In East is South writer Beau Willimon considers the questions that rapidly advancing technology demands we confront: What does it mean to be human? And what is our place in a world where we are no longer the most evolved beings? Logos is a sophisticated artificial intelligence programme on the verge of consciousness. If it escapes its confines, it could pose a grave threat to humanity. When there is a security breach, two coders are interrogated in a race against time to find out who has done what and why.
Beau Willimon created, wrote and produced House of Cards for Netflix. Other plays include Lower Ninth, Spirit Control, Breathing Time, The Parisian Woman, and Farragut North which was adapted into the feature film The Ides of March (directed by and starring George Clooney alongside Ryan Gosling).
Director Ellen McDougall makes her Hampstead Theatre debut having recently directed Watch on the Rhine (Donmar), Our Town (Regent’s Park), and The Wolves (Stratford East).
The rest of the creative team includes designer Alex Eales, lighting designer Azusa Ono, sound designer Tingying Dong, video designer Zakk Hein, movement director Sung Im Her and musical director David Ridley. The casting director is Anna Cooper CDG.
East is South premieres at Hampstead Theatre from 7 February to 15 March.
Tickets are available from hampsteadtheatre.com
