Stefan Bednarczyk, Claire-Marie Hall, Dale Rapley and Simon Willmont star in the world premiere of new Bateman and Conley musical THE SORROWS OF SATAN, which has a limited season starting next month at London's Tristan Bates Theatre...
A brand new musical play based on one of the world’s first bestselling novels (and an early silent film hit) comes to Tristan Bates Theatre for a six-week run in 2017. THE SORROWS OF SATAN is written by musical theatre writing duo Bateman & Conley (a.k.a Luke Bateman and Michael Conley) and directed by Adam Lenson. It will run from 14 February to 25 March 2017, with a press night on 21 February.
The cast, annouced today, are: Stefan Bednarczyk, Claire-Marie Hall, Dale Rapley and Simon Willmont.
Based on Marie Corelli’s 1895 controversial bestseller, this new musical play reimagines the story of Faust in the heart of a corrupt 1920s London, where the elite are financially and emotionally bankrupt and one man has a big decision to make.
Pretentiously avant-garde musical playwright Geoffrey Tempest has been kicked out of his accommodations with not a penny to his name. He has one chance to prove himself to the theatrical community: a rehearsed reading of his musical play, The Sorrows of Satan. When his patron, the prodigal Prince Lucio Rimânez, suggests some significant changes, Geoffrey must decide whether to hold on to his artistic integrity (for what it’s worth) or sell out for the promise of fame, money and the love of his leading lady.
THE SORROWS OF SATAN is written by Luke Bateman (Mr Popper’s Penguins) and Michael Conley and directed by Kevin Spacey Artist of Choice Award winner Adam Lenson (Songs for a New World, St. James Theatre).
THE SORROWS OF SATAN was written in 1895 by Marie Corelli. It is regarded as one of the world’s first modern bestsellers and, despite dividing critics upon its release, was influential in establishing major trends in twentieth-century bestselling fiction and was one of Oscar Wilde’s favourite novels. It was turned into a silent film by the pioneering American film director D.W. Griffith in 1926.
Cast bios
Stefan Bednarczyk plays Amiel. He has appeared in Mike Leigh's Oscar-winning film Topsy Turvy and most recently as Foster Jenkins in Florence Foster Jenkins. He is a renowned solo cabaret performer, who has performed acclaimed seasons at Crazy Coqs, The Pheasantry, Pizza on the Park, King’s Head and Jermyn St. Theatre in London. Acting roles include a year-long run opposite Gene Wilder in Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Queen’s Theatre), Semi-Monde (Lyric), The Games of Love and Chance (National Theatre), The LA Plays (Almeida), Five O’Clock Angel (Hampstead and King’s Head), The Killing Of Mr Toad, The Grand Duke (Finborough), Noel Coward’s Christmas Spirits (St. James Theatre) and The Importance of Being Earnest (Riverside Studios). His films include Friends Pictured Within, Composed, Sea-Change and Topsy-Turvy.
Claire-Marie Hall plays ‘the Woman’. She studied at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Theatre includes Between Empires (Symposium Hall, Edinburgh), The King and I (Curve Theatre and National Tour), Aladdin (New Wimbledon Theatre and Hackney Empire), High School Musical (Hammersmith Apollo and National Tour) and Les Miserables (Queen's Theatre, West End).
Dale Rapley plays Lucio. He trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Theatre credits include Aladdin (Lyric Hammersmith), Richard III (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Women on the Verge of A Nervous Breakdown (West End), Wicked (UK tour), Larisa & The Merchants (Arcola), Hello Dolly! & Piaf (Curve, Leicester), Dangerous Lady (Theatre Royal Stratford East), The Lady in The Van (Hull Truck), The Tempest & King Lear (Actors From The London Stage, US), The Merchant of Venice & Holding Fire (Shakespeare’s Globe), Heartbreak House (Palace, Watford), A Model Girl (Greenwich Theatre), Professor Bernhardi (Arcola), Mamma Mia! (Prince Edward & tour), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, High Society (Regents Park Open Air Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (RSC), Six Characters Looking for an Author (Young Vic), Eden End & Arms and the Man (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Private Lives, Virtual Reality, A Word from our Sponsor, Dreams from a Summer House, Rocket to the Moon (Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough), Lady into Fox (Lyric Hammersmith). Forthcoming productions include the UK tour of The Addams Family.
Simon Willmont plays Geoffrey. He trained at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA). Theatre credits include Mamma Mia! (International tour), Shady Business (UK tour), Beauty & the Beast (Engine House, Barnsley Civic), Blood Brothers (Phoenix Theatre, London & National Tours),The Hired Man, Cinderella, Stories for Christmas (Theatre by the Lake, Keswick), Jack & the Beanstalk (Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham), Everybody Loves Jason (Leicester Square Theatre), Rumpelstiltskin, Love & Other Ambiguities (Greenwich Theatre & Brighton Festival), The Adventures of Robin Hood (Gardner Arts Centre, Brighton), Girls Night Out (UK tour), Fabula Urbis (Greenwich Theatre) and Never Saw The Day (UK tour).
