Full cast announced for CYRANO DE BERGERAC at the Playhouse Theatre

Joining the Golden Globe and Olivier Award nominated James McAvoy (Cyrano de Bergerac) to complete the cast are Michele Austin (Ragueneau), Adam Best (Le Bret), Sam Black (Armand/Priest), Nari Blair-Mangat (Valvert), Philip Cairns (Referee), Tom Edden (De Guiche), Eben Figueiredo (Christian), Chris Fung (Usher), Adrian Der Gregorian (Montfleury), Carla Harrison-Hodge (Denise/Medic), Seun Shote (Theatre Owner), Kiruna Stamell (Marie-Louise), Nima Taleghani (Ligniere), and Anita-Joy Uwajeh (Roxane) with Vaneeka Dadhria, Mika Johnson and Brinsley Terence.

Cyrano de Bergerac is the first production in a new season directed by Jamie Lloyd which opens at Playhouse Theatre on 6 December, with previews from 27 November and runs until 29 February. Further productions to be announced.

Fierce with a pen and notorious in combat, Cyrano almost has it all - if only he could win the heart of his true love. There’s just one big problem: he has a nose as huge as his heart. Will a society engulfed by narcissism get the better of De Bergerac - or can his mastery of language set Roxane’s world alight?

The season also sees The Jamie Lloyd Company and Ambassador Theatre Group offering 15,000 free tickets and 15,000 £15 tickets for under 30s, key workers and those receiving job seeker’s allowance and other government benefits, supported by British Airways.

Martin Crimp’s theatre credits include When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other, In the Republic of Happiness, Play House, The City, Fewer Emergencies, Cruel and Tender, The Country, Attempts on Her Life, The Treatment, Play with Repeats, Dealing with Clair, Definitely the Bahamas, Four Attempted Acts and Living Remains. His work in the UK has been produced by Orange Tree Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Stephen Joseph Theatre, RSC, Young Vic and the Royal Court Theatre where he was writer-in-residence in 1997. In New York his work has been seen at the Public Theater and the Classic Stage Company, as well as on Broadway.

Michele Austin plays Ragueneau. Her theatre credits include The Hunt, Medea (Almeida Theatre), White Teeth (Kiln Theatre), Instructions for Correct Assembly, Breath Boom, Been So Long (Royal Court Theatre), The Seagull (Lyric Hammersmith), Pride and Prejudice (Sheffield Theatres), The House That Will Not Stand, The Riots (Tricycle Theatre), I Know How I Feel About Eve, Out in the Open (Hampstead Theatre), To Kill a Mockingbird (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Sixty-Six Books (Bush Theatre), Generations (Young Vic), and Our Country’s Good (Out of Joint/Young Vic). For television, her work includes Dark Heart, The Coroner, Casual Vacancy, Death in Paradise, Harry & Paul, Secret Life, The Canterbury Tales and Gimme Gimme; and for film, The Children’s Act, What We Did on Our Holidays, Parking Wars, Another Year, The Infidel, Valentine’s Day, All or Nothing and Secrets and Lies.

Adam Best plays Le Bret. His theatre credits include The Duchess of Malfi (Royal Lyceum Theatre/Citizen's Theatre), Medicine (Hope Theatre), The Girl on The Train (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Hedda Gabler, The Silver Tassie (National Theatre/UK tour), Lions and Tigers (Shakespeare's Globe), Twelfth Night, The Plough and The Stars, (National Theatre), His Restless House, Hamlet (Citizen’s Theatre), Flare Path, Our Country's Good, The Golden Dragon, Journey's End (UK tour), The Deep Blue Sea (The Watermill Theatre), Long Day's Journey into Night (Royal Lyceum Theatre), Crime and Punishment, (Citizen’s Theatre/Liverpool Everyman), Public Enemy (Young Vic), The Woman in Black (Fortune Theatre), Northern Star (Finborough Theatre), Pieces of Vincent (Arcola Theatre), Truckstop (Company of Angels) and By the Bog of Cats (Wyndham’s Theatre). His television credits include as series regular Matt Parker in Holby City, Waking the Dead and The Catherine Tate Show; and for film, The Little Stranger, Cup Cake and Blooded.

Sam Black plays Armand/Priest. This production marks his professional stage debut.

Nari Blair-Mangat plays Valvert. His theatre credits include Colour is too Sweet (King’s Head Theatre), A Cord of Three Strands (RADA Festival), People, Places & Things (National Theatre/Wyndham’s Theatre), Macbeth (Manchester International Festival/Park Avenue Armory, NYC), Othello (Leicester Square Theatre), The Duchess of Malfi (The Old Vic) and Piaf (Vaudeville Theatre/Donmar Warehouse). His television credits include Temple; and for film Murder on the Orient Express, Cinderella, Spectre and Terry.

Philip Cairns plays Referee. His theatre credits include Peter Gynt (National Theatre), Pressure (Ambassadors Theatre), Two-Way Mirror (Theatre by the Lake), Villette (West Yorkshire Playhouse), The Crucible, Kill Johnny Glendenning (Royal Lyceum Theatre), A View from the Bridge, Dial M for Murder (UK tours), The Duchess of Malfi (The White Bear Theatre), ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore, Macbeth (Cheek by Jowl), Bacchae, Blood Wedding (Royal and Derngate Northampton) and The Pearlfisher (Traverse Theatre).

Vaneeka Dadhria is making her professional stage debut.

Tom Edden plays De Guiche. His theatre credits include Our Town (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Pinter Three (Pinter at the Pinter), Matilda (RSC/Cambridge Theatre), The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Donmar Warehouse), Amadeus (National Theatre), Doctor Faustus (Duke of York’s Theatre), Peter Pan Goes Wrong (Apollo Theatre), Measure For Measure (Young Vic), Les Misérables (Queen’s Theatre) and Oliver! (Sheffield Theatres). His television credits include Upstart Crow, The Scandalous Lady W and Doctor Who; and for film Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Cinderella and Mr. Turner.

Eben Figueiredo plays Christian. His theatre work incudes Young Marx (The Bridge Theatre), Primetime (Royal Court Theatre), Ross, Pit Cairn (Chichester Festival Theatre), Peter Pan (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) and Around the World in 80 Days (St James Theatre); and for film, Solo: A Star Wars Story and Daphne.

Chris Fung playsUsher. His theatre credits include Evita (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), The Lehman Trilogy (National Theatre) and The King and I (Australian tour).

Adrian Der Gregorian plays Montfleury. His theatre credits include Made in Dagenham (Adelphi Theatre), Sweet Smell of Success (Arcola Theatre), Road Show (Menier Chocolate Factory), The Rocky Horror Show (UK tour), Once in a Lifetime (Young Vic), Mr Burns (Almeida Theatre) and Love and Understanding (Trident Theatre). His television credits include W1A.

Carla Harrison-Hodge plays Denise/Medic. Her theatre credits Amadeus (National Theatre), Hillside (Park Theatre), The Fruit Trilogy, Avocado and Pomegranate (Southbank Centre/ West Yorkshire Playhouse), #Caste (Arcola Theatre), Sweatin' It Out (Theatre Royal Stratford East), The Boyband (The Pleasance) and Can't Stand Up For Falling Down (The Lantern Theatre). Her television credits include Four Weddings and a Funeral, Year of the Rabbit, Cuffs, I Want My Wife Back and Fresh Meat.

Mika Johnson’stheatre credits include Pink Lemonade (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Boxes (Purple Theatre), Chessboard Society (Curve, Leicester), Behind Closed Doors (Lakeside Arts Centre, Nottingham) and #FaceMe (Contact, Manchester).

James McAvoy plays Cyrano de Bergerac. His theatre credits include The Ruling Class, Macbeth (Trafalgar Studios), Three Days of Rain (Apollo Theatre), Breathing Corpses (Royal Court Theatre), Privates on Parade (Donmar Warehouse) and Out in the Open (Hampstead Theatre). His television credits include Watership Down, Shameless, Early Door, State of Play and the upcoming His Dark Materials. His film credits include It 2, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Glass, Sherlock Gnomes, Submergence, Atomic Blonde, Split, X-Men: Apocalypse, Victor Frankenstein, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Filth – for which he won BIFA Best Actor Award, London Critics Circle Best British Actor Award, British Academy Scotland Best Actor Award andEmpire Award for Best Actor, X-Men: First Class, The Conspirator, Gnomeo and Juliet, The Last Station, Atonement – for which he won Best Actor at the London Film Critics Circle, Best Actor at Empire Film Awards and Richard Attenborough Film Awards; and was nominated for a BAFTA and Golden Globe, Becoming Jane, Starter for Ten, The Last King of Scotland – for which he won Best Actor BAFTA Scotland Award, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Bright Young Things.

Seun Shote plays Theatre Owner. His theatre credits include The Princess and The Hustler (UK tour), Pitchfork Disney (Shoreditch Town Hall), Bob, Routes (Royal Court Theatre), Hearing Things (Albany Theatre), City of God, Tickets & Ties (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Play Mas (Orange Tree Theatre), One Man, Two Guvnors, Death and the Kings Horseman (National Theatre), Egusi Soup, Our Country's Good, Mother Courage and Her Children (UK tours), 12th Night (Nottingham Playhouse), Salome (Headlong Theatre), Sizwe Bansi is Dead (New Vic Theatre/Stephen Joseph Theatre), The Fortune Club (Tricycle Theatre/Leicester Haymarket) and Off Camera (West Yorkshire Playhouse). His television credits include Black Mirror, Unforgotten, Birds of a Feather, One Child, Little Miss Jocelyn and Little Britain; and for film, Bruno and Welcome to the Punch.

Kiruna Stamell plays Marie-Louise. Her theatre credits include The Government Inspector (Birmingham Rep), Everyman, An Oak Tree, Great Britain (National Theatre), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Octagon Theatre Bolton), The Ugly Spirit, For All The Wrong Reasons (Contact, Manchester) and Whiter Than Snow (UK tour/Unicorn Theatre/Birmingham Rep). Her television credits include Life's Too Short, Cast Offs and All the Small Things; and for film, The Best Offer and Moulin Rouge.

Nima Taleghani plays Ligniere. His theatre credits include Macbeth (Royal Exchange Theatre), Armadillo (Yard Theatre), The Merry Wives of Windsor, Romeo and Juliet (RSC), Laika (Unicorn Theatre), Summit (UK tour), Blasted (Styx), The Plough and the Stars (US and Irish tour) and Mercury Fur (Hull Truck Theatre). His television credits include Hatton Garden; and for film 90 Minutes and Dublin Oldschool.

Brinsley Terence’s theatre credits include Downstate (National Theatre). For television, his credits include Tyrant and Murders, Mysteries and Scandals; and for film, ISIS: Conspiracy of Terror and The Down Staircase.

Anita-Joy Uwajeh plays Roxane. Her previous theatre credits include Two Trains Running (UK tour), King Lear (Duke of York’s Theatre), Grotty (Bunker Theatre), Twelfth Night (Shakespeare’s Globe), Girls, Fury (Soho Theatre), and We Wait in Joyful Hope (Theatre503). For television, her credits include Lucky Man, Not Safe for Work and Transporter.

Jamie Lloyd directs. His credits for the company include Betrayal (Pinter at the Pinter, Harold Pinter Theatre/Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre), Pinter One, Two, Three, Six and Seven (Pinter at the Pinter, Harold Pinter Theatre), Doctor Faustus (Duke of York’s Theatre), The Maids, The Homecoming, The Ruling Class, Richard III, The Pride, The Hothouse, Macbeth (Trafalgar Studios). Other theatre credits include Evita (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Apologia (Trafalgar Studios), Guards at the Taj (Bush Theatre), The Pitchfork Disney, Killer (Shoreditch Town Hall), Assassins (Menier Chocolate Factory), Urinetown (St James Theatre/Apollo Theatre), The Commitments (Palace Theatre), The Duchess of Malfi (The Old Vic), She Stoops to Conquer (National Theatre), The Faith Machine, The Pride (Royal Court Theatre - Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre), Inadmissible Evidence, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Polar Bears, Passion (Donmar Warehouse - Evening Standard Award for Best Musical and Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Musical Revival), Piaf (Donmar Warehouse/Vaudeville Theatre - Olivier Award nomination for Best Musical Revival), The Little Dog Laughed (Garrick Theatre), Three Days of Rain (Apollo Theatre – Olivier Award nomination for Best Revival), The Lover, The Collection (Comedy Theatre), Elegies: A Song Cycle (Arts Theatre), The School for Scandal (Theatre Royal Bath), Salome (Headlong), Eric’s (Liverpool Everyman) and The Caretaker (Sheffield Theatres). Lloyd was Associate Director of the Donmar Warehouse from 2008 to 2011 and is a former Associate Artist of Headlong.