Robert Lindsay to Star in the Old Vic’s The Entertainer

Tony Award winner Robert Lindsay will play Archie Rice in the Old Vic’s revival of John Osborne’s The Entertainer, February 23-May 19. The production, to be directed by Sean Holmes, will open officially on March 7.

The play concerns Rice, a struggling music hall performer who shamelessly cheats on his wife and tricks his father into financing one last revue. Laurence Olivier played Rice in the show’s original production, its 1958 Broadway production, and its 1960 film version. Jack Lemmon played the role in a 1977 American television remake.

The show will also star Jim Creighton, Emma Cunniffe, David Dawson, Pam Ferris, Andrew McDonald, and John Norrington. The creative team includes Anthony Lamble (sets and costumes), Peter Mumford (Lighting), Paul Harris (choreography), John Addison (music), and Fergus O’Hare (sound).

Lindsay, one of Britain’s most popular actors, received the Tony, Drama Desk, and Theatre World Awards for Me and My Girl. He has starred in the British television version of such Shakespeare plays as King Lear, Cymbeline, Twelfth Night, and Much Ado About Nothing.