Joe McNamara makes his professional stage debut as the accused, Leonard Vole in Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie.
He will be joined by Emer McDaid (Game of Thrones, HBO; Soft Border Patrol, BBC) as Romaine, Jonathan Firth (Gaslight,Royal and Derngate; Father Brown, BBC) as Sir Wilfrid Robarts, Teddy Kempner (Caroline or Change; Bitter Wheat, both West End) as Mr Mayhew, Miles Richardson (The Crown, BBC; King Charles III, West End/ Broadway) as Mr Myers and Martin Turner (The Son, Kiln Theatre/ West End; The Plague, Arcola Theatre) as Mr Justice Wainwright. The rest of the new cast includes Christopher Dickins (War Horse; The Phantom of the Opera, both West End), Nicholas Fretwell (Love from A Stranger, Royal & Derngate/UK tour) who makes his West End debut, Yvonne Gidden (Cat on A Hot Tin Roof, West End; Coronation Street, ITV), Sam Graham (Peterloo, Film4; The Country Wife, Southwark Playhouse), Eliot Giuralarocca (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, West End; The Tempest, UK Tour), Ellie-Rose Mackinlay who also makes her West End stage debut and Elana Martin (Miss Saigon, UK/European Tour; Travesties, West End).
When theatres were closed in March 2020 Witness for the Prosecution had just celebrated its 1000th performance having played to more than 325,000 people over two and a half years. The production has captured the imagination of audiences gripped by the case of Leonard Vole, accused of murder in cold blood. Director Lucy Bailey (Oleanna, Theatre Royal Bath/ West End; soon to direct Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, Royal and Derngate/ UK tour) thrillingly places the audience in the thick of the action as Christie’s enthralling tale of justice, passion and betrayal unfolds around them.
Leonard Vole is accused of murdering a widow to inherit her wealth. The stakes are high. Will he be able to convince the jury of his innocence and escape the hangman’s noose?
The twists and turns of the case are played out in a spectacular courtroom setting inside the atmospheric London County Hall as prosecution battles defence and witnesses take the stand to give their shocking testimonies. The production received Best Revival nominations at the 2018 Olivier and WhatsOnStage Awards.
Witness for the Prosecution opens its doors again to audiences on 14 September, just in time to celebrate Agatha Christie’s birthday on 15 September. In her autobiography, Christie wrote: “One night at the theatre stands out in my memory especially; the first night of ‘Witness for the Prosecution’. I can safely say that that was the only first night I have enjoyed…It was one of my plays that I like best myself.’” Also this September, Witness for the Prosecution director Lucy Bailey’s new production of And Then There Were None begins a UK tour.
London County Hall, The Chamber, County Hall, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 7PB from 14 September 2021 to 20 March 2022. Times: Tues- Sat 7.30-m; Thur & Weekend matinees 2.30pm. Admission: £60.50 – £79.50.
Box Office: 0844 815 7141 – www.witnesscountyhall.com
