Derby Theatre is thrilled to announce a superb and stellar cast for their big production in the main house this autumn, a co-production with Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch of Richard Bean’s hilarious farce, One Man, Two Guvnors. The production will run at Derby Theatre from Saturday 7 until Saturday 28 September, before moving on to play at the Queen’s Theatre from Wednesday 2 until Saturday 19 October.

Playing the central role of Francis Henshall will be David O’Reilly. David has numerous stage and TV credits to his name, with highlights including: The Catherine Tate Show Live and The Book of Mormon (both in the West End); Grease (a No. 1 UK Tour) and the popular sitcom Benidorm for ITV.

Joining David will be David Cardy, playing the role of Charlie. David played Chris, the husband of Pauline Quirke’s character, Sharon in the popular and long-running sitcom for the BBC, Birds of a Feather. David’s other TV credits include: The Bill, A Touch of Frost, Eastenders and Silent Witness. Joining them, as part of the wonderful line-up of top-class actor-musicians, will be: Samantha Hull as Pauline (A Christmas Carol for the RSC, Half a Sixpence at the Noel Coward Theatre and a UK tour of Jersey Boys); George Kemp as Stanley (The Trial of Christine Keeler for the BBC and Rope for Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch); Alice Frankham as Rachel (Sleeping Beauty for Theatre Royal Stratford East and Robin Hood for Derby LIVE and Little Wolf Entertainment); TJ Holmes as Alfie (The Hired Man for Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, Mother Courage for Leeds Playhouse and Two Gentleman of Verona for Shakespeare’s Globe and Liverpool Everyman); Ivan Stott as Harry (The Jungle Book and Goldilocks and the Three Bears for Derby Theatre and composer for numerous Derby Theatre productions); Duane Hannibal as Lloyd (Of Mice and Men and The Wind in the Willows for Birmingham Rep and A Taste of Honey for New Vic, Stoke); Jack Brett as Alan (Peter in Peter Pan for Derby Theatre, a UK tour of Romeo and Juliet for China Plate and Underneath a Magical Moon for York Theatre Royal); Craig Armstrong as Gareth (director of Fat Friends the Musical, actor in Billy Elliot The Musical in the West End and Whistle Down the Wind for Bill Kenwright) and Rosie Strobel as Dolly (Grimms’ Fairytales for Guildford Shakespeare Company).

One Man, Two Guvnors will feature a live skiffle band which includes: Oraine Johnson (The Jungle Book for Derby Theatre and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest for Torch Theatre); Dominic Gee Burch (UK and International Tour of Footloose); Jay Osborne (Cilla the Musical and Dreamboats and Petticoats for Bill Kenwright) and Tomas Wolstenholme (Dick Whittington Rock ‘n’ Roll Pantomime for Stafford Gatehouse and Cinderella for Bolton Octagon). The skiffle band will treat the audience to some pre-show music before each performance.

The creative team includes: Sarah Brigham (Director); Kelvin Towse (Musical Supervisor); Neil Irish (Set & Costume Designer); Trina Haldar (Assistant Director); Tim Skelly (LX Designer) and Adam McCready (Sound Designer).

One Man, Two Guvnors is a side-splitting mix of physical comedy, farce and live music and has remained a huge hit with audiences and the press alike since the National Theatre’s production opened to rave reviews in 2011. The play continued to be a runaway success when it later toured the UK, played in the West End and on Broadway and later played Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, plus further UK tours.

After being fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall is skint and hungry. He manages to secure a new job as a minder for small time gangster Roscoe Crabbe. What Francis doesn’t know, is his new guvnor is really Roscoe’s sister Rachel in disguise as her own dead brother, who has been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers. To further complicate things, Francis nabs a second job working for that very Stanley Stubbers who is hiding from the police. All Francis has to do to ensure his two guvnors don’t meet. What could go wrong?

Sarah Brigham (Artistic Director and Chief Executive, Derby Theatre and Director of One Man, Two Guvnors) said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have assembled a cast and creative team of this calibre. One Man, Two Guvnors is an absolute firm favourite, the perfect theatrical treat for anyone looking for a truly great night out. During its West End and Broadway runs, the production proved phenomenally popular with audiences and the press alike, and I am confident that Derby audiences (and those in Hornchurch) will love it too. If you are looking for a laugh-out-loud night in our Theatre, with great live music, then I can highly recommend this show as being one great night out!”

Douglas Rintoul (Artistic Director, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch) said: “After our hugely successful co-productions of Abigail’s Party and Abi, we’re delighted to be partnering again with our friends at Derby Theatre. Derby Theatre is an innovative leader in British theatre, and so we’re thrilled the Theatre’s Artistic Director Sarah Brigham will be directing this major revival of this iconic British comedy. With such a wonderful cast and creative team on board, Hornchurch and Derby audiences are in for a truly riotously fun night out.”

Tickets are now on sale. For more information and to book tickets, call the Box Office on 01332 593939 or book online at http://www.derbytheatre.co.uk. Jump the queue and book early – with 50% off preview performances – by becoming a Derby Theatre Friend today (contact Box Office for more information).

ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES BSL performances will be on Thursday 12 September at 7.30pm and Saturday 14 September at 2.30pm. Audio Described performances will be on Wednesday 11 and Saturday 28 September at 2.30pm. Dementia-Friendly performance on Wednesday 25 September at 2.30pm.

FREE CRÉCHE On Sunday 22 September, the Theatre will provide a free crèche on site for those attending the 2:30pm showing of One Man, Two Guvnors. The crèche is open to ages 0-12 years and will be available from 2pm until approximately 5pm when the show finishes. Places are limited so early booking is recommended.