Full cast and creatives have now been announced for the world premiere of Kathy Rucker’s DARLING, which gets its world premiere next month at London’s Hope Theatre. The strictly limited season runs from 9 to 27 November 2021, with a press night on 11 November. Time to get booking!
In 1985 small-town Indiana, Pete responds to an advert and thinks he has met the woman of his dreams. They communicated only by letters. Eventually, he finds himself compelled to meet his love in person, and that sets in motion a scenario that is both heartbreaking and heartwarming.
DARLING, written by award-winning American playwright Kathy Rucker, is a tale of love, mercy and mail fraud in the halcyon days pre-Internet. It’s inspired by a true story that took place during the 1980s in the American Midwest – a renowned “catfishing” scam in which an unsuccessful writer and his partner penned fake love letters to men across the country, gaining their trust and money, until their fraud was uncovered.
Tom Edward-Kane plays Pete, alongside Heider Ali as Dave, Colin Bruce as Roy, and Lucia Young as Angie. The premiere production is directed by Offies Award winner Scott Le Crass, with set design by Jida, lighting by Jack Wills, sound by Bella Kear, and stage management by Summer Keeling. Sarah Jane Berger, founder of the So & So Arts Club, is produce
Darling premieres at the Hope Theatre in November
Cast bios
Tom Edward-Kane
Tom Edward-Kane (Peter) trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). His previous stage credits include Harvest (New Perspectives). His screen credits include Vanity Fair (ITV), Zapped (Dave) and Mr Cobb in Mike Leigh’s Peterloo. Short films include The Outing and Tremor at the Edge of Vision. Audio work includes the audiobook Tube Song for Manchester Home Theatre’s Homemakers Festival and BBC Radio 4 listeners heard him in Fire in the Bookshop.
Colin Bruce
Colin Bruce (Roy) makes a welcome return to the stage “after raising a family and doing other things”. His many stage credits include Jane Eyre, Amadeus, Nuremberg War Crimes Trial, Marat/Sade, Cat on a Hot TinRoof, The Devils, The Duchess of Malfi, Hamlet, The Mousetrap and The Great White Hope. His screen credits include Joseph, Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story, The Blonde Bombshell, The Big Knife, The Boyhood of John Muir, The Secret Garden and Chariots of Fire.
Heider Ali
Heider Ali (Dave) trained at Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. He has been seen onstage in Loam (Gate Theatre) and Macbeth (Chichester Theatre). Television includes You Don’t Know Me (BBC, Netflix). Film includes Batman, Medusa Deluxe, Vengeance, and Death on the Nile.
Lucia Young
Lucia Young (Angie) trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Her most recent theatre credits include Staring At A Nan Goldin Photo by Francis Grin at The Space, and This Queer House at Vault Festival with OPIA Collective. While training, Lucia performed in Mary Stuart at Theatre Royal Bath, Welcome To Thebes at the Tobacco Factory, and The Wizard Of OZ at Redgrave Theatre Bristol. Her TV credits include Joe Barton’s new thriller EXTINCTION (Sky/Urban Myth Films) and Blitz Spirit with Lucy Worsley. She has also recorded her first audiobook, The Girl Without A Name by Suzanne Goldring, which can be found on Audible.
