Ed Harris is to make his West End stage debut opposite his real-life wife Amy Madigan in the transfer of the New Group's Off-Broadway production of Sam Shepard's Buried Child, beginning performances November 14 prior to an official opening November 24, for a run through February 18, 2017.
It is directed by Scott Elliott, whose New Group production of The Spoils also transferred this year to the Trafalgar Studios.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning play premiered at San Francisco's Magic Theatre in 1978 before transferring to Off-Broadway's Lucille Lortel Theatre, and was revived on Broadway in 1996 in a production that transferred from Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre.
Shepard previously worked with Harris on the film The Right Stuff in 1983, after which he wrote the role of Eddie in his play Fool for Love for Harris' stage debut. Following that partnership, Buried Child is now the fifth of Shepard's plays that Harris has performed in, including Cowboy Mouth, True West and Simpatico.
Madigan, who met Harris on the 1984 film Places in the Heart and with whom she has appeared in another ten films together, stars opposite him again.
The play has been described in press materials as casting a brutal light on disenfranchised Americans. Set in rural America as it was reeling from a recession, the downturn of the agricultural industry and with a rising popularity in highly conservative candidates, the similarity of the political atmosphere in 1979 and 2016 is compelling, especially in the run up to the American presidential election in November.
In the play, Dodge (Harris) and Halie (Madigan) are barely hanging on to their farmland and their sanity while looking after their two wayward grown sons. When their grandson Vince arrives with his girlfriend, no one seems to recognize him, and confusion abounds. As Vince tries to make sense of the chaos, the rest of the family dances around a deep, dark secret.
In a press statement, Elliott commented, “I'm so excited to return to the West End so quickly after our production of The Spoils with another New Group show and another representation of our ongoing relationship with ATG, and Lisa Matlin, to bring shows from New York to London and vice versa, featuring artists from both cities working together to create the kind of fierce ensemble work the New Group is known for. Buried Child is Sam's masterpiece and I can’t wait to get another crack at it with Shepard's masters, Ed Harris and Amy Madigan, along with some fresh British artists. Ed and Amy are members of the New Group family and I am particularly thrilled to introduce these brilliant stage creatures to West End audiences.”
Further casting is still to be announced. It is presented by Lisa Matlin and Adam Speers for Ambassador Theatre Group.
To book tickets, contact the box office on 0844 871 7632 or visit BuriedChildPlay.co.uk.
