Cast Announced for Cul-de-Sac

The cast has been announced for Cul-de-Sac, the new play from esteemed playwright David  Shopland (Saving Britney, 2022 The Other Palace/UK Tour; Raising Kane, 2023 Edinburgh  Festival Fringe, Assembly Venues; Lessons Learned, 2017 National Theatre of China). Presented  by Fake Escape, the acclaimed company behind the multi-five-star, sell-out Off Broadway hit  Saving Britney, Cul-de-Sacis heading to Clapham’s Omnibus Theatre for its first ever  performances from late May 2025.

Joining the cast in the role of Ruth Townsend is the star of Shopland’s WhatsOnStage Award nominated international hit one-woman show Saving Britneyand OffWestEnd Award nominated  actress Shereen Roushbaiani (The Boy, Soho Theatre; Midsummer Murders,ITV; Doctors, BBC).  Ellis J. Wells (A Midsummer’s Night Dream, 2008 – nominated for Best Actor at KCACTF; Edge, 2018 – nominated for Best Actor at the iFFIF awards; Last Chancers, 2021 – nominated for Best  Actor at the MegaFlix Film Awards) will perform the character of Frank Townsend, with Lucy  Farrett (Sally4Ever, HBO, Sky; Genuis: Einstein, National Geographic, Fox; Alice’s Adventures in  Underground, Les Enfants Terribles) as Marie Gilchrist. Callum Patrick Hughes (Godspell, The  Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch; THIRST, UK Tour; The Canterville Ghost, Southwark Playhouse) takes on the role of Simon Waller, with Behkam Salehani (Cleopatra’s Antony, Theatre  Peckham; Springboard Showcase, Lyric Hammersmith; Tales of Babylon, 2023) completing the  cast as Hamza Al-Haytham.

Set in deep suburbia in Northwood Hills, Zone 6 London, we follow four characters across the  course of one evening as a quiet night quickly dissolves into chaos. Ruth is questioning every  decision she’s ever made; Simon is grappling with a personality he can’t quite define; Marie is  keeping a secret that could shatter everything, and Frank just desperately wants his driveway  back. In this wine-soaked post-mortem dissection of contemporary Britain, Shopland explores the broken millennial suburbanite experience, peeling back the layers of Millennial civility with  unflinching honesty.

The cast is supported by a dynamic and diverse team of creatives. As well as writing the script,  direction and design is led by David Shopland, with movement direction by Jahraine Lamb (founder of Lamb Lion Legacy) and the Dramaturg is Roann Hassani McCloskey (nominated for  the BBC Popcorn Prize and the Vault Origins Award). Lexie Woodroof (University of East London,  MFA Theatre Directing) joins Cul-de-Sac as Assistant Director & Intimacy Coordinator, with Ellie  Holloway (Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet, Hong Kong and Singapore, Action to the Word; Chitty  Chitty Bang Bang, UK and Ireland Tour; The Unicorn Theatre) as Stage Manager, Luke John  Emmett (Wizard of Oz– won a Rosebowl; Titanic, Zenith Youth Theatre Company) as Technical  Director & Lighting Consultant and Bathseba Mahray (DreamArts) as Production Assistant.

Writer and Director David Shopland comments, This production has been a personal labour of  love, and to be able to boast such a talented company ready to breathe life into these characters  over 7 years in the making is truly humbling and exhilarating in equal measure. First and  foremost, I am a collaborator, and I can barely contain my excitement at what this ridiculously  talented group of performers are going to bring to the party, and how the play will evolve with  this cast at the helm. 

Website: www.fakeescape.org/cul-de-sac

Tickets: https://www.omnibus-clapham.org/cul-de-sac/

Main Image: Courtesy of Fake Escape

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