Star Wars actor in Manchester play premiere

Mar 28 2008 by Michael Green, Flintshire Chronicle

Ian McDiarmid

STAR Wars screen actor Ian McDiarmid returns to Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre for the first time in more than 20 years to appear in the world premiere of Jonah and Otto – a new play by critically-acclaimed writer Robert Holman.

He is to star alongside Andrew Sheridan in this new production which runs in The Studio at the Royal Exchange until Saturday, April 5.

Recently seen in Channel Four’s major period series City of Vice, McDiarmid, who plays Otto, is best known for his recurring big screen role as Palpatine in the Star Wars saga.

He first appeared as the evil Palpatine in Return of the Jedi and reprised the role in The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.

Set in a walled garden on a warm summer’s evening, Jonah and Otto tells the story of a chance encounter between 26-six-year-old Jonah and 62-year-old Otto – a beautiful evocation of a fleeting moment of connection between two very different men.

Magical, and at times surreal, the play is a humane, funny and ultimately haunting exploration of what it is to be male and quintessentially English.

Ian McDiarmid was a Royal Exchange associate artistic director from 1986 to 1988. He directed Moliere’s Don Juan and his acting credits included Marlowe’s Edward II.

Andrew Sheridan, who plays Jonah, was last seen at the Royal Exchange in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice. Television credits include Shameless, New Street Law, Coronation Street and Cold Blood. Film work includes the role of Terry Mason in the BAFTA winning Control.

The work of playwright Robert Holman was last seen at the Royal Exchange when his previous plays Across Oka and Rafts and Dreams were showcased in 2003’s Quietly Making Noise season.

Other work includes Bad Weather for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Holes in the Skin for Chichester Festival Theatre and the novel The Amish Landscape.

For booking information, ring the box office on 0161 833 9833 or visit www.royalexchange.co.uk.