Casting announced for The Seven Acts of Mercy
THE SEVEN ACTS OF MERCY
Written by Anders Lustgarten
Directed by Erica Whyman
Swan Theatre: 24 November 2016 – 10 February 2017
Press night: Thursday 1st December 2016, 7pm
Casting is announced for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere of Anders Lustgarten’s new play The Seven Acts of Mercy. Deputy Artistic Director Erica Whyman will direct the production. Named after Caravaggio’s 1607 painting, the play takes place across a gap of 400 years, between the creation of the masterpiece in Naples in 1606, and present-day Bootle, where a retired dock worker attempts to teach his grandson about the life awaiting him.
The visceral new play, confronting the dangerous necessity of compassion in a world where it is in short supply, features Patrick O’Kane, who returns to the RSC after playing Macbeth in Conall Morrison’s 2007 production, as Caravaggio. O’Kane’s other theatre performances include Jimmy in Owen McCaffertys’ award-winning play Quietly, and The Crucible in Belfast’s Lyric Theatre, and Doctor Faustus at the Manchester Royal Exchange. He has appeared in hit TV shows Game of Thrones (HBO) and The Fall (BBC Two).
Tom Georgeson plays retired dock-worker Leon. Georgeson is known for his roles as D.I. Harry Naylor in Between the Lines (BBC One), and in the Alan Bleasdale TV dramas Boys from the Blackstuff (BBC Two), Scully (Channel 4) and G.B.H. (Channel 4). His film work includes A Fish Called Wanda, and more recently he has appeared in Ashes to Ashes (BBC One) and Channel 4’s award-winning drama Shameless.
Edmund Kingsley, known for his performances in Martin Scorsese’s 2011 film Hugo, and more recently as John Maynard Keynes in Life in Squares (BBC Two), returns to the RSC to play Marchese. He was last on the RSC stage in Marina Carr’s Hecuba (Swan Theatre, 2015), directed by Erica Whyman.
Leon’s grandson, Mickey, is played by 16-year-old Liverpudlian actor T.J. Jones. Jones, who has no formal acting training, has previously appeared in Mat Whitecross’ 2012 film Spike Island, about the famous The Stone Roses gig.
The Seven Acts of Mercy
The Seven Works of Mercy, also known as The Seven Acts of Mercy, is a 1607 oil painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, which to this day resides in the Church of Pio Monte della Misericordia in Naples, for which it was originally commissioned.
The painting, inspired by the Book of Matthew chapter 25 verse 35, depicts seven acts of mercy in traditional Catholic belief: Bury the dead; visit the imprisoned; feed the hungry; shelter the homeless; clothe the naked; visit the sick; refresh the thirsty.
It was painted after Caravaggio fled Rome for Naples, a price on his head for the murder of a man.
Anders Lustgarten, whose searing political plays such as Lampedusa, Black Jesus, and If You Don’t Let Us Dream We Won’t Let You Sleep have gained him wide critical acclaim, makes his RSC debut. Lustgarten credited his lifelong admiration of Caravaggio as part of his inspiration to write The Seven Acts of Mercy: “His desire to tell the truth about the world, and reclaim art for real people motivates my own writing. The aesthetic of his work and his personal violence and self-loathing are intensely theatrical. The idea of compassion, which animates The Seven Acts of Mercy and his work in general, is drastically needed in the modern world.”
Lustgarten’s latest play takes its audience between Naples in 1606, where Caravaggio is working on The Seven Acts of Mercy, his first painting since he killed a man and fled Rome, and present day Bootle. Retired dock-worker Leon teaches his grandson about compassion, as around them a community is disintegrating under the pressure of years of economic and political degradation. His tools are all he has left: a book of great works of art.
Further casting for The Seven Acts of Mercy includes: Joe Allen (Jimmy), Sally Bankes (Sandra), James Corrigan (Vincenzo), Tom Georgeson (Leon), T.J Jones (Mickey), Lena Kaur (Donna), Edmund Kingsley (Marchese), Patrick Knowles (Razor), Leon Lopez (Prime), Paul McEwan (Damien), Allison McKenzie (Lavinia), Patrick O’Kane (Carravagio), Nicky Priest (Danny), Paislie Reid (Jennifer), Anthony Renshaw (Company), Gyuri Sarossy (Lee), Eloise Secker (Emily).
The Seven Acts of Mercy is directed by Erica Whyman and designed by Tom Piper. Lighting is by Charles Balfour and music is by Isobel Waller-Bridge. Movement is by Michael Ashcroft and fights are directed by Paul Benzing. Video is by Nina Dunn, and text and voice work by Stephen Kemble.
Notes to Editors
For further information, please contact philippa.harland@rsc.org.uk 0207 845 0512 or amy.belson@rsc.org.uk 01789 412622.
For press tickets please contact dean.asker@rsc.org.uk 01789 412660
To book tickets call 01789 403493 or online at www.rsc.org.uk
The RSC Ensemble is generously supported by THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION and THE KOVNER FOUNDATION
The RSC Literary Department is generously supported by THE DRUE HEINZ TRUST
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