Ewen Leslie joins Tim Minchin and Toby Schmitz in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Sydney Theatre Company has announces that Ewen Leslie has been cast as ‘The Player’ in the forthcoming production of the absurdist tragicomedy, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, directed by Simon Phillips. Performances are at Sydney Theatre from 6 August to 7 September 2013 (Opening Night: Saturday 10 August 2013 at 7.30pm).
The play reunites Leslie with previously announced leads, Tim Minchin and Toby Schmitz, all of whom went to university in Perth. The exceptional cast also includes Paul Cutlan, John Gaden, George Kemp, Angus King, Nicholas Papademetriou, Berynn Schwerdt, Christopher Stollery, Aaron Tsindos, Adele Querol and Tim Walter.
Written by Tom Stoppard and first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1966, the riotous play is a Hamlet spin-off of sorts, expanding upon the exploits of two of Shakespeare’s minor characters, the courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Freemantle-born Leslie’s most recent performance for STC was in Kafka’s The Trial adapted by Louise Fox in 2010. Previously a member of the STC Actors Company, his memorable roles include an award winning performance as Hal in The War of the Roses, the eight-hour epic directed by Benedict Andrews for the STC in 2009, for which he received a Helpmann Award and a Sydney Theatre Award.
He most recently starred as Brick in Belvoir’s production of Tennessee Williams' classic, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and was also seen in Belvoir’s The Wild Duck which travelled to Malthouse Melbourne and to Oslo as part of the International Ibsen Festival.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is directed by Simon Phillips, who has directed Leslie in Melbourne Theatre Company’s productions of Hamlet (2011) and Richard III (2010).
Images: (Top) Toby Schmitz and Tim Minchin & (lower) Ewen Leslie.