James Nelson-Joyce. Photo: Scott Rylander
James Nelson-Joyce will co-star with Julian Clary in the World premiere of Stephen Clark's black comedy Le Grand Mort at Trafalgar Studios from 20 September - 28 October 2017. James recently appeared as James yates in ITV's Little Boy Blue and has appeared in Cilla, Mount Pleasant and Shameless.
In his super stylish, sterilely beautiful Notting Hill kitchen, Michael is preparing dinner for two. As he meticulously cuts the vegetables with almost a surgeon’s precision, he talks, with knife-like wit, about cases in history where the human body has continued to prove useful even after death. As he slices and chops, one wonders who is coming for dinner and what the main course might be. When Tim, his young guest arrives, they engage in a series of funny, thrilling but searingly dangerous mind games, as they try to unravel the reasons why they are both there. Only when the games turn deadly do they catch a glimpse of the sadness and loss within each of them, that enables them to at least begin to connect with the truth, using whatever damaged shreds of humanity they still have left.
Le Grand Mort was specially written for Julian Clary by the late Stephen Clark. Stephen,a four-time Olivier Award-nominated writer (Martin Guerre, Zorro, Love Story and Stripped) passed away aged 55 last October. Julian Clary said: “In 2010 Stephen Clark took me out to lunch in Camden and told me he’d like to write a play for me. How lovely, how flattering, how unusual! Over the following few years I got the occasional email from Stephen saying ‘I haven’t forgotten the play!’ but I decided he’d probably thought better of it. We were both busy with life, work and in Stephen’s case, some serious health issues. Then, one day in 2013, it arrived. A funny, dark, beautiful play…Le Grand Mort will take me so far out of my comfort zone I may never return.” Le Grand Mort will be directed by Christopher Renshaw, designed by Justin Nardella, lighting desiged by Jamie Platt, sound by Edward Lewis and produced by Danielle Tarento.
LE GRAND MORT TICKETS
Douglas Mayo has had a life long love affair with musical theatre. He has authored several books on publicity and marketing for amateur theatre groups. He is in the process of developing a musical based on his original story concept.
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