Brighton Dome has announced that award-winning British actor Rory Kinnear will appear, for one night only in Tim Crouch’s legendary play An Oak Tree when it returns home to Brighton later this month – 20 years after the show was first developed in the city.
Best known as MI6’s Bill Tanner in the James Bond films (Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre), Kinnear’s screen credits also include The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Black Mirror and the Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated The Imitation Game.
A landmark of experimental theatre, An Oak Tree is written by trailblazing Brighton-based playwright and actor Tim Crouch. Each night, a different guest actor joins him on stage – having never read or seen the play before. Audiences won’t know which guest star they will see until they enter the theatre on the night – Rory Kinnear is the first to be announced, with further names to be revealed closer to the run.
Called “a theatrical wonder” (The Guardian), the play is a poignant meditation on loss, belief and the transformative power of theatre. Previous guest actors have included David Tennant, Jessie Buckley and Sophie Okonedo, and since 2005 the show has toured worldwide to critical acclaim.
An Oak Tree runs at Brighton Dome from 30 Oct–1 Nov.
Kinnear is hugely respected for his theatre work, winning Best Actor at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for his performances in Measure for Measure (Almeida Theatre) and Hamlet (National Theatre), and for his performance in Othello (National Theatre), for which he received an Olivier Award.