Casting announced for Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre performances in Chester

May 18 2011 Ellesmere Port Pioneer

AFTER four days of auditions, the casting for this year’s Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre is complete.

City arts organisation Chester Performs has announced some of the country’s finest actors will be joining the team this summer.

The critically acclaimed outdoor theatre will be presenting two new productions, Shakespeare’s As You Like It and new play by Glyn Maxwell, Merlin and the Woods of Time, with an ambitious 49 performances from July 7-August 21.

The cast includes familiar names and faces from stage and screen, including TV actors Robert Mountford (EastEnders, Casualty, Doctors), David Ricardo-Pearce (Outnumbered, Extras), Andrew Westfield (Hustle, Downtown Abbey) and Mike Burnside (Lewis, Miss Marple, The Bill).

Also joining the cast are theatre stars Sevan Stephan, whose credits include Royal Shakespeare Company productions of The Winter’s Tale and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, and Sophie Roberts, who recently performed at Regents Park Open Air Theatre.

Stephan is playing King Arthur in Merlin and the Woods of Time and Roberts will join the team as Celia in As You like It.

The title role of Merlin will be played by Alan McMahon, who starred alongside Academy Award winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis in 2002 Hollywood blockbuster Gangs of New York.

McMahon will also be familiar among younger audiences as Mr Mentor in CBBC hit series Grandpa in my Pocket.

Recent RADA graduate Rosie Jones takes the role of Phoebe in As You Like It following an impressive performance as Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Bolton Octagon.

The performances are to directed by Nikolai Foster and Alex Clifton and will be staged in a custom-built structure in Chester’s Grosvenor Park.

Tickets are on sale from £12. Book at www.grosvenorparkopenairtheatre.co.uk, by calling 0843 241 7868 or by visiting Chester Visitor Information Centre.