The creators behind new drama and love story SAVAGE, which uncovers the tragic tale of a Nazi doctor and his ill-conceived “cure” for homosexuality, are proud to announce the cast for the West End premiere production, which runs at the Arts Theatre 29 June to 23 July 2016.
The full Savage cast
The show stars Gary Fannin (pictured top left – The Reduced Shakespeare Company; Spectre; 24: Live Another Day) as Dr Carl Peter Værnet , Alexander Huetson (Edward Bond’s Dea, Sutton Theatres; Phil Willmott’s Encounter, Above the Stag) as Nikolai Bergsen and Nic Kyle (The Grand Tour, Finborough Theatre; Closer to Heaven, Union Theatre) as Zack Travis. The team are also thrilled to be working with Bradley Clarkson (Flames, Waterloo East Theatre; Murderer, Upstairs at The Gatehouse) as General Heinrich Von Aechelman after his role in previous success The Tailor-Made Man.
Other cast includes Lee Knight (Much Ado About Nothing, Wyndham’s Theatre West End; Drama at Inish, Finborough Theatre; Archimedes Principle, Park Theatre) as Georg Jensen, Emily Lynne (She Loves Me and Romance Romance, Landor Theatre) as Ilse Paulsen, Christopher Hines (Phil Willmott’s Encounter, Above The Stag; Aladdin, Newbury Corn Exchange; The Ring Cycle, the Scoop; Doctors, BBC) as Major Ronald Hemingway. Kristian Simeonov (East 15 Acting School) completes the cast, and makes his London stage professional debut as Goran.
In the late 1930s, Danish doctor Carl Peter Værnet discovered what he believed to be “the cure for homosexuality”, and was given a prominent post at the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald. After the liberation by Allied forces, Dr Værnet was allowed to flee to South America, where he continued to experiment on thousands of live subjects, with the full knowledge of both the British and Danish authorities.
Savage will uncover the story of Dr Værnet and present it alongside a love story exploring how Dr Værnet’s “cure” might have affected the homosexual men experimented on.
Værnet remains largely unwritten about and unresearched, apart from a ground-breaking piece by gay rights activist and Guardian journalist Peter Tatchell in 2015, who will be taking part in a post-show Q&A, hosted by My Theatre Mates co-founder Terri Paddock, on Wednesday 6 July 2016.
