Capital Theatres today announced that both The Donmar Warehouse’s Blindness (June 29 – July 3) and A Splinter of Ice (July 13 – July 17) will play to limited capacity audiences maintaining 2m social distancing.
Starring Oliver Ford Davies, widely known for his roles as Sio Bibble in Star Wars and Maester Cressen in Game of Thrones, as Greene, and Stephen Boxer, whose TV credits include Denis Thatcher in The Crown and Dr Joe Fenton in Doctors, as Philby, A Splinter of Ice by Ben Brown is set in Moscow in 1987.
As the cold war begins to thaw and more than 30 years of declining his offers, Greene travels to the heart of the Soviet Union to meet his old MI6 boss. Under the watchful eye of Russian memoirist and Philby’s last wife, Rufa, the two men set about catching up on old times. With a new world order breaking out around them, how much did the writer of The Third Man know about Philby’s secret life as a spy and did Philby betray his friend as well as his country?
Exploring an unlikely friendship interwoven with deceit and loyalty, A Splinter of Ice will be directed by Alan Strachan with Alastair Whatley and will tour to the Leven Street theatre for a week in July, opening on Tuesday 13 and running until Saturday 17.
Brown says, “I’m thrilled to be working again with Alan Strachan and Oliver Ford Davies and to be joining forces with Stephen Boxer and Alastair Whatley for the premiere, at last, of my new play.”
Alastair Whatley, Artistic Director of Original Theatre Company, adds, “I am thrilled that we are producing Ben’s fantastic new play with such a wonderful cast and creative team. The plan was to open this in front of audiences at the end of March, but alas, once again, plans have changed. Instead of cancelling, we will now film the production, releasing the play to our audiences around the world, before then returning to stages across the UK as soon as theatres re-open.”
Gary Smith, director of marketing and communications at Capital Theatres said: “We are very excited that after months of nail-biting challenges and waiting we are now on the point of reopening the theatres and welcoming back our audiences. This moment means so much to the whole team at Capital and we have been planning meticulously to ensure that we do it as thoughtfully and safely as possible.
“Of course, instead of 1,900 people in the Festival Theatre auditorium we will have 44 on stage for this performance and challenges will remain firmly in place around sustaining the operation until we can welcome back full auditoriums, nonetheless it is a landmark that we are delighted to make.”
For tickets, further information and to see what else is happening at Capital Theatres visit www.capitaltheatres.com
