ACCLAIMED ACTRESS AND TV PERSONALITY KYM MARSH TO HEADLINE PROVOCATIVE NEW STAGE THRILLER

Smith and Brant Theatricals and Ambassador Theatre Group Productions are today delighted to announce casting for a new production of Fatal Attraction, based on the classic Paramount Pictures Corporation film. Kym Marsh (ITV’s Coronation Street) will perform the iconic role of Alex Forrest, Oliver Farnworth (ITV’s Coronation Street) her lover, Dan Gallagher and Susie Amy (ITV’s Footballers’ Wives) his wife, Beth.

KYM MARSH is an actress and well-loved star of the British music and television scene. The former singer was part of the hugely successful noughties pop band Hear'Say, who had two UK number one singles and a UK number one album. A treasured star of UK television also, Marsh played the role of Michelle Connor in ITV's Coronation Street for 13 years, winning many awards including the coveted Best Female Dramatic Performance in 2017.

Earlier this year she appeared in Kay Mellor's long running BBC comedy-drama The Syndicate and has been presenting BBC One's hit day-time show Morning Live. The award-winning actress now returns to the stage as the Alex Forrest in the UK tour of Fatal Attraction.

OLIVER FARNWORTH’S theatre credits includes: The Girl On The Train (UK Tour); The Marilyn Conspiracy (International Tour); Down The Dock Road (Theatre Royal Liverpool); Dobbo  (Royal Court Liverpool); Inherit the Wind (New Vic Theatre); Beautiful Thing (Arts Theatre/ UK Tour); Santa Claus The Musical (Grand Theater, Singapore); The Widowing Of Mrs Holroyd (New Vic Theatre);  A View From The Bridge (Theatre By The Lake); Holding The Man (Trafalgar Studios);  Kes  (Liverpool Playhouse & UK Tour); Merchant Of Venice (Changeling Theatre);  A Midsummer Night's Dream (British Shakespeare Company); Saturday Night Sunday Morning (Harrogate Theatre/ Oldham Coliseum); London Plays: London Tongue (Old Red Lion); Under Milk Wood (New Vic Studio); The Roaring Girl (New Vic Studio) and The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (Redgrave Theatre).Television includes: Endeavour Vi, Coronation Street, Mr. Selfridge, Doctors Xiv, The Royal and  Hollyoaks. Films include: Love Type D. Workshops include: Dracula (New Vic Theatre).

Since becoming a household name in Footballer's Wives, SUSIE AMY has taken on various parts including the lead role in the American miniseries La Femme Musketeer, which also starred Gerard Depardieu and Nastassja Kinski, and a lead role in ITV's Echo Beach and  Moving Wallpaper with Ben Miller. Other Television includes: Hollyoaks, Plus One, My Family, Coronation Street, New Street Law, Hotel Babylon, Death In Paradise, The Royal, Sam's Game, Holby City, Casualty, Dark Realm and  Sirens. Films include: Andy Garcia's Modigliani, House of 9 with Dennis Hopper and Peter Capaldi, Lesbian Vampire Killers, The Pimp, Psych:9, Two Families, Dead Fish, Bonded By Blood and  Silent Hours in which she played Hugh Bonneville’s wife Rosemary. Theatre includes: The Marilyn Conspiracy (Edinburgh Festival);  Out Of Order (UK Tour); Rehearsal For Murder (UK Tour); Wait Until Dark (UK Tour);  After Juliet (Young Vic/ National Theatre); The Mummy  (Belgrade Theatre) and Murder On The Nile  (UK Tour).

The cast will also include John Macaulay as Jimmy, Troy Glasgow as O’Rourke and Emma Laird Craig as understudy Beth / Alex.

Fatal Attraction is the latest grip-the-edge-of-your-seat thriller from the producers of the celebrated tours of Patrick Hamilton’s Gaslight and Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train.

Fatal Attraction is written by James Dearden, who based the stage play on his Oscar-nominated screenplay, which in turn was adapted from his 1980 short film, Diversion. This brand-new production is directed by Loveday Ingram and features set and costume design by Morgan Large, lighting design by Jack Knowles, sound design by Carolyn Downing. Paul Englishby is the show’s composer and Fatal Attraction has been cast by Anne Vosser.

Director Loveday Ingram says of today’s announcement: 

“I am excited to be working on this brilliant new stage adaptation of the iconic film Fatal Attraction. It’s a gripping, fast-paced psychological thriller that deals with complicated issues of consent, trust and responsibility. The play asks some difficult questions. Audiences today will no doubt respond differently to the ‘bunny boiler’ character Alex, made famous by Glen Close, and the debate it ignites today will be very different from 1988 as our awareness of mental health has progressed significantly. We have an exceptional cast, led by Kym Marsh, together with a first-class creative team, and set against the glamour and romance of Manhattan, the show promises to provide an evening of passion and debate.”

One of the most iconic films of the era, Fatal Attraction was one of 1987’s highest grossing US Box Office release, securing six major Oscar nominations at the following year’s Academy Awards, including: Best Actress for Glenn Close’s mesmerising depiction of urbane sophisticate Alex Forrest, Best Supporting Actress (Anne Archer), Best Writing Adapted Screenplay (James Dearden), Best Director (Adrian Lyne), Best Editing, and Best Picture. Michael Douglas - at the peak of his Hollywood powers - was omitted from the list only as he was nominated elsewhere in the Best Actor category for his role as Gordon ‘greed is good’ Gecko in Wall Street, which he went on to win. Fatal Attraction’s success was such that the film inspired a generation of psychosexual thrillers in the years that followed.

Loveday Ingram trained with John Barton at the RSC and was previously Associate Director at Chichester Festival Theatre. Loveday’s credits include: The Rover, The Merchant of Venice (Royal Shakespeare Company); Henry V, Julius Caesar (Storyhouse); Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery (Liverpool Playhouse/National Centre for the Performing Arts, China); My One and Only (Piccadilly Theatre/Chichester). Nominated for 4 Olivier Awards and Evening Standard Award; The Blue Room (also Chichester), When Harry Met Sally (Theatre Royal Haymarket); Bedroom Farce (Aldwych Theatre); Three Sisters, Pal Joey (nominated for TMA and Barclay Best Musical Awards), Dead Funny, Insignificance (Chichester Festival Theatre); Macbeth (Theatre Severn); Richard III (Nottingham Playhouse/York Theatre Royal); These Shining Lives (Park Theatre); Rockabye (Beckett Centenary Festival/Gate Theatre Dublin/Barbican); Boston Marriage, Hysteria (Irish Times Award) (Project Theatre Dublin); Outlying Islands, Lettice and Lovage (Bath Theatre Royal); The Messiah (National Theatre of Brent/Bush Theatre). Opera credits include All About Love (Linbury Studio); Brittain's Rape of Lucrece (BAC) and Barber's Vanessa (Lyric Hammersmith). Music Video includes This Time It’s Forever (Women’s Aid).

Tipped to be provocative and gripping in equal measures, Fatal Attraction is a tale of seduction and suspense that asks the question;  what happens when desire becomes deadly? Fatal Attraction is co-produced with Gavin Kalin Productions. 

Fatal Attraction will be on at Theatre Royal Brighton from Friday 14 – Saturday 22 January 2022. You can buy tickets here. 

Fatal Attraction will be touring across the UK in 2022. For full tour dates and locations please click here.