She Stoops to Conquer - Olivier Theatre

She Stoops to Conquer

A classic story of mistaken identity lands on the stage of the Olivier National Theatre from January to March 2012 as Oliver Goldsmith “She Stoops to Conquer” makes its mark with an impressive cast and a director in Jamie Lloyd. The leads include Steve Pemberton, well known for his work with “The League of Gentlemen, as well as Katherine Kelly from “Coronation Street” and Sophie Thompson from “EastEnders” and together they bring new life to a play that was first penned in the 18th century and first seen by theatre audiences in 1773.

The plot involves mistaken identity and the mayhem that ensues as a result of it. Hardcastle (Pemberton) is about to introduce his daughter with his old friend’s son, hoping that a marriage of substance can come of it. But Hardcastle, who is a man of worth, mistakes Marlow – the prospective son in law- for an innkeeper and at the same time mistakes his daughter for a local barmaid. But this mistake has its benefits as Marlow finds it easier to talk to girls who are not cut from families of substance, but as this love intensifies there are plenty of mistakes along the way and chaos is unavoidable.

Steve Pemberton is one of the members of the comedy troupe “The League of Gentlemen”, with whom he was in live shows, radio shows, a television series and a movie entitled “The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse”. His other credits include “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and television shows like “Psychoville”, “Doctor Who”, “Miss Marple”, “Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)” and “Benidorm”. For the stage he has appeaed in “The Drowsy Chaperone” at the Novello Theatre, “Art” at the Whitehall Theatre (now the Trafalgar Studios”.

Katherine Kelly, meanwhile, is best known for starring in “Coronation Street” in the role of Becky McDonald though she has also appeared in various other television shows and films. Her credits include “Life on Mars”, “No Angels” and “The Visit”, in addition to “Coronation Street” specials like “Out of Africa” and “Romanian Holiday”.

“She Stoops to Conquer” appears at the Olivier National Theatre following both “13” and “The Comedy Of Errors”. It runs from Tuesday 24th January 2012 to Wednesday 28th March 2012.