Leading actors announced for online Headlong plays

More than 50 actors have been announced for a series of new digital plays put together by theatre company Headlong and Century Films in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Unprecedented: Theatre from the State of Isolation will be broadcast nationally as part of BBC Arts’ Culture in Quarantine initiative, featuring leading directors and playwrights, previously announced. The work, featuring 10 new plays, are due to start streaming online in May.

The casts will include:

Sadia Ahmed

Kae Alexander (Deep State; Fleabag)

Esh Alladi (Ordinary Love; A Confession)

Patricia Allison (Sex Education)

Gemma Arterton (Summerland; Their Finest)

Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh; Flowers)

Paul Chahidi (This Country; The Death of Stalin)

Ines De Clercq (Broadchurch)

Risteárd Cooper (Quiz; Delicious)

Arthur Darvill (Doctor Who; Broadchurch)

Natalie Dew (Sandylands; Peter Rabbit)

Erin Doherty (The Crown; Junkyard)

Monica Dolan (Official Secrets; W1A)

Michael Elwyn (Stella; Coronation Street)

Denise Gough (People, Places and Things; Angels in America)

Frances Grey (Ordeal by Innocence; Home Fires)

Kathryn Hunter (Timon of Athens; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

Saoirse-Monica Jackson (Derry Girls)

Geraldine James (Back To Life; 45 Years)

Lennie James (The Walking Dead; Save Me)

Sue Johnston (The Royle Family; Downton Abbey)

Rory Keenan (Long Day’s Journey into Night; Versailles)

Lisa Kerr (Top Girls)

Rory Kinnear (Years and Years; Brexit: The Uncivil War)

Laurie Kynaston (The Son; How to Build a Girl)

Alex Lawther (The End of the F***ing World; Howards End)

Archie Madekwe (See; Midsommar)

Anna Madeley (Deadwater Fell; Patrick Melrose)

Marcello Magni (Fragments; Arlecchino)

Lucianne McEvoy (Crocodile Fever; Ulster American)

Jodie McNee (Faustus: That Damned Woman; Britannia)

Cecilia Noble (Nine Night; Downstate)

James Norton (Happy Valley; The Trial of Christine Keeler)

Enyi Okoronkwo (Noises Off; Giri/Haji)

Abraham Popoola (Party Time; Julius Caesar)

Boadicea Ricketts (Bartholomew Fair; East)

Golda Rosheuvel (Lady Macbeth; A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer)

Sid Sagar (White Teeth; The Starry Messenger)

Rochenda Sandall (Line of Duty; Pomona)

Gyuri Sarossy (The Absence of War; The Two Noble Kinsmen)

Kiruna Stamell (The New Pope; Cyrano de Bergerac)

Rebekah Staton (Raised by Wolves; Home)

Alison Steadman (Gavin and Stacey; Care)

Rhashan Stone (Keeping Faith; All About Eve)

Meera Syal (Noises Off; The Kumars at No 42)

Stuart Thompson (A Taste of Honey)

Amy Trigg (The Taming of the Shrew; Measure For Measure)

Dickon Tyrell (Labour of Love; Anatomy of a Suicide)

Olivia Williams (Tartuffe; Counterpart)

Gabby Wong (Rogue One; Troilus and Cressida)

Fenella Woolgar (Handbagged; Call the Midwife)

Sargon Yelda (Strike; Antony and Cleopatra).

Unprecedented explores our rapidly evolving world, responding to how our understanding and experiences of community, education, work, relationships, family, culture, climate and capitalism are evolving on an unprecedented scale. The series will ask how we got here and what the enduring legacy of this historic episode might be.

Using digital conferencing technology to rehearse and film each play, these intimate new works will give an immediate insight into this extraordinary communal experience.

The previously announced directors include Ned Bennett, Deborah Bruce, Tinuke Craig, Debbie Hannan, Brian Hill, Jeremy Herrin, Ola Ince, Nathaniel Martello-White, Blanche McIntyre, Caitlin McLeod and Holly Race Roughan.

The writers are April De Angelis, Josh Azouz, Deborah Bruce, John Donnelly, Clint Dyer, Jennifer Haley, Sami Ibrahim, James Graham, Charlene James, Jasmine Lee-Jones, Duncan Macmillan, Nathaniel Martello-White, Chloë Moss, Prasanna Puwanarajah and Tim Price. Visit the HEADLONG page Visit out STUCK AT HOME page