The first production pictures of Maxine Peake in Lucy Kirkwood’s new play at the National Theatre have been released.
Opening tomorrow, The Welkin is directed by James Macdonald, who has most recently directed Caryl Churchill’s latest offering Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp at the Royal Court.
Ria Zmitrowicz, recently seen in the Almeida's The Doctor, stars alongside Peake, reuniting the pair after they appeared together in BAFTA-winning BBC series Three Girls.
Kirkwood’s play takes place in 1759, when a young woman (Zmitrowicz) is sentenced to hang for a murder. When she says she is pregnant, a jury of 12 matrons are chosen to decide if she’s telling the truth, with only one midwife (Peake) prepared to defend her.
The cast also includes Natasha Cottriall, Daneka Etchells, Jenny Galloway, Haydn Gwynne, Zainab Hasan, Aysha Kala, Wendy Kweh, Philip McGinley, Cecilia Noble, Laurence Ubong Williams, Dawn Sievewright, June Watson, Shaofan Wilson, Hara Yannas and Brigid Zengeni.
The production has set and costume design by Bunny Christie, lighting design by Lee Curran, sound design by Carolyn Downing, movement by Imogen Knight and fight direction by Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown.
The Welkin runs until May 23 at the National’s Lyttelton Theatre, and will be streamed to cinemas with NT Live on May 21, nationaltheatre.org.uk
