HAMPSTEAD THEATRE ANNOUNCES CASTING FOR SHELAGH STEPHENSON’S OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING PLAY THE MEMORY OF WATER, DIRECTED BY ALICE HAMILTON

• LUCY BLACK, KULVINDER GHIR, ADAM JAMES, LIZZY MCINNERNY, CAROLINA MAIN AND LAURA ROGERS WILL PERFORM IN SHELAGH STEPHENSON’S OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING PLAY, THE MEMORY OF WATER, WHICH RECEIVED ITS WORLD PREMIERE AT HAMPSTEAD THEATRE IN 1996
  
  
• ALICE HAMILTON WILL DIRECT THIS PAINFULLY FUNNY COMEDY HAVING DIRECTED THE 60th ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION OF THE DUMB WAITER, THE OLIVIER–NOMINATED EVERY DAY I MAKE GREATNESS HAPPEN AND PARADISE AT HAMPSTEAD THEATRE
  
  
• THE MEMORY OF WATER WILL RUN FROM 3 SEPTEMBER – 16 OCTOBER 2021 ON THE MAIN STAGE
  
  
• THE MEMORY OF WATER WILL REMAIN SOCIALLY DISTANCED WITH REDUCED CAPACITY FROM 3 – 25 SEPTEMBER.  THE THEATRE MAY INCREASE CAPACITY FROM 27 SEPTEMBER. ADDITIONAL DATES WILL GO ON SALE CLOSER TO THE TIME 
  
  

Hampstead Theatre is delighted to announce the cast for Shelagh Stephenson’s Olivier Award-winning play The Memory of Water. Lucy Black, Kulvinder Ghir, Adam James, Lizzy McInnerny, Carolina Main and Laura Rogers will perform in this poignant and painfully funny comedy about conflicting memories, life and loss, which received its world premiere at the theatre in 1996. Directed by Alice Hamilton, the new production will run from 3 September until 16 October 2021. Hamilton returns to Hampstead Theatre after her recent 60th anniversary production of The Dumb Waiter and the Olivier-nominated Every Day I Make Greatness Happen and Paradise. 

Alice Hamilton, director of The Memory of Water, said:

"I am so pleased to be back at Hampstead Theatre and directing The Memory of Water with this group of brilliant actors.  Shelagh Stephenson’s Olivier Award-winning play is a modern classic, rich with fabulous characters and a deep vein of humour.  The past year has placed family at the forefront of our minds, and I can’t wait to share this warm-hearted riot of sibling rivalry with live audiences."

The Memory of Water makes a highly anticipated return to Hampstead Theatre twenty-five years after its World Premiere in 1996. Winner of the Olivier Award for Best Comedy, Shelagh Stephenson’s poignant and painfully funny comedy is about conflicting memories, life and loss. Following West End and New York transfers, Stephenson also adapted The Memory of Water into a film, Before You Go (2002), directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Julie Walters, John Hannah, Joanne Whalley and Victoria Hamilton.

Lucy Black will play the role of Teresa. Recent theatre credits include The Haystack by Al Blyth (Hampstead Theatre), Girls by Caryl Churchill (National Theatre) and The York Realist by Peter Gill (Donmar Warehouse). Recent TV credits include Endeavour by Russell Lewis, The Durrells by Simon Nye (both ITV) and Gentleman Jack by Sally Wainwright (BBC1).

Kulvinder Ghir will play the role of Frank. Theatre credits include Ayub Khan Din’s East Is East (Octagon Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Sir Trevor Nunn (New Wosley Theatre), Comedians by Trevor Griffiths (Lyric Hammersmith) and Much Ado About Nothing (Royal Shakespeare Company). Screen credits include BBC sketch comedy series Goodness Gracious Me (BBC Radio 4/BBC2), the recent TV adaptation of Black Narcissus (BBC1) and Gurinder Chadha’s latest film, Blinded by the Light.

Adam James will play the role of Mike. Recent theatre credits include Girl from the North Country by Conor McPherson (The Old Vic/West End), Consent by Nina Raine (National Theatre/West End); Bull (Young Vic) and King Charles III (Almeida Theatre/West End/New York) by Mike Bartlett. TV credits include forthcoming new thriller Vigil by Tom Edge, Life and Doctor Foster by Mike Bartlett and I May Destroy You by Michaela Coel (BBC).

Lizzy McInnerny will play the role of Vi. Theatre credits include Harriet Martineau Dreams of Dancing and A Northern Odyssey by Shelagh Stephenson (Live Theatre) and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Chichester Festival Theatre/Duchess Theatre). Recent TV credits include The Crown by Peter Morgan (Netflix), Back to Life co-written by Laura Solon and Daisy Haggard (Season 2, BBC3) and Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders (BBC1).

Carolina Main will play the role of Catherine. Theatre credits include Valhalla by Paul Murphy (Theatre503/Sheer Drop) and King Lear (Royal Shakespeare Company). TV credits include her role as DC Fran Lingley in crime drama series Unforgotten by Chris Lang (ITV).

Laura Rogers will play the role of Mary. Theatre credits include Pressure by David Haig (Chichester Festival Theatre/Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh/UK Tour/Park Theatre/West End), Rules For Living by Sam Holcroft (English Touring Company) and Winter Solstice by Roland Schimmelpfennig (Orange Tree Theatre/Actors Touring Company).  

Shelagh Stephenson’s other plays include An Experiment with an Air Pump (Royal Exchange/Hampstead Theatre), Ancient Lights (Hampstead Theatre), Five Kinds of Silence (Lyric Hammersmith) and Mappa Mundi (National Theatre).

Alice Hamilton returns to Hampstead following her 60th anniversary production of Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter (2020) and the Olivier-nominated Every Day I Make Greatness Happen and Paradise (both Hampstead Downstairs). Other directing credits include Blood Wedding (Salisbury Playhouse) and While We’re Here (Bush Theatre).  

She will be joined by designer Anna Reid; lighting designer Johanna Town; composer and sound designer Harry Blake; assistant director Aysha Kala, voice and dialect coach Stephen Kemble, with casting by Briony Barnett CDG.  

The production has been supported with a philanthropic gift from Lin and Ken Craig, long-standing supporters of Hampstead Theatre.

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