Simon Russell Beale will star as A E Housman in Tom Stoppard’s The Invention of Love directed by Blanche McIntyre at Hampstead Theatre from 4 December to 25 January.

 

Described as ‘the greatest stage actor of his generation’ Simon Russell Beale makes a welcome return to Hampstead following his leading role in the sell-out hit Mr Foote’s Other Leg in 2015 which subsequently transferred to the West End.

 

A recipient of three Olivier Awards, two BAFTA Awards and a Tony Award, Simon Russell Beale’s many theatre credits include: The Lehman Trilogy (National Theatre, West End and Broadway); King Lear and Hamlet (National Theatre); Jumpers (West End and Broadway); The Tempest (RSC) and Temple (Donmar). His TV and film credits include House of the Dragon, The Death of Stalin, The Hollow Crown, Dunkirk, Penny Dreadful and A Dance to the Music of Time.

 

Simon Russell Beale said,

 

“I’m delighted to be working with Blanche McIntyre on Tom Stoppard’s great masterpiece The Invention of Love. The story concerns the poet and scholar A E Housman whose writing and ideas I find deeply moving.”

 

Blanche McIntyre, director said,

 

“The Invention of Love is a true masterpiece and a play I love beyond measure, and I have hoped all my life to be able to direct it.

 

“It's a dream to be working on it with the great Simon Russell Beale. His extraordinary skill with language, intelligence, wit and genius will illuminate the part of A E Housman and the whole play. I am so excited that he is on board."

 

In Tom Stoppard’s play, A E Housman is, as he understands it, finally dead. The noted Latin scholar and celebrated poet of A Shropshire Lad is being ferried across the Styx to Hades – but beyond the stygian gloom on the other side of the river he finds, to his surprise, the Oxford University of his youth. Alive with the academic debates that shaped his work and the friendships that shaped his life this is the Oxford of Ruskin and Pater, a place still marked by the brilliance of a recently departed student called Wilde…

 

Tom Stoppard returns to Hampstead after the triumphant revivals of Hapgood and Rock ‘n’ Roll. Winner of eight Evening Standard, three Olivier and five Tony Awards, Stoppard’s plays include Leopoldstadt; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Arcadia.

 

Blanche McIntyre previously directed Botticelli in the Fire at Hampstead Theatre in 2019. She recently directed The Merry Wives of Windsor for the RSC and has worked extensively at The Globe; her previous credits include The House of Shades and The Writer (Almeida) and Tartuffe (National Theatre).

 

Joining Blanche on the creative team are designer Morgan Large, lighting designer Peter Mumford and Composer and Sound Designer, Max Pappenheim. Further casting and creatives are to be announced.

 

The Invention of Love plays on the Main Stage at Hampstead Theatre from 4 December to 25 January.

 

BOOK THE INVENTION OF LOVE HERE