Adrian Lester to star in Cost of Living at Hampstead Theatre

Adrian Lester is set make his first appearance at the Hampstead Theatre as he leads the cast of Martyna Majok's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Cost of Living, which gets its UK premiere in the New Year.

Lester will play the role of a truck driver named Eddie who is trying to reconnect with his estranged wife Ani, played by Katy Sullivan, after she was caught up in a serious car crash. Meanwhile across town, recent graduate Jess (Emily Barber) is hired to care for John (Jack Hunter), a PhD student with cerebral palsy. The play sees they four lives intertwined, and their roles dramatically reversed.

Lester, who is best-known for starring in BBC series Hustle, is an Olivier Award winner for his role in the 1995 West End revival of Company. His acting credits also include Six Degrees of Separation, Sweeny Todd, and Othello at the National Theatre.  

Emily Barber's theatre work includes Trouble in Mind at Theatre Royal, Bath, The Importance of Being Earnest at the Vaudeville Theatre, and a Shakespeare's Globe production of Cymbeline. Katy Sullivan will make her UK stage debut in the play. She created the role of Ani in the US, and is also a four-time US 100m champion, and competed in the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Jack Hunter's credits include Let Me Play the Lion Too at the Barbican, and a UK tour of All You Need is LSD.

Cost of Living premiered at Williamstown Theatre Festival, Manhattan Theatre Club, where it won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for drama. It will be the 100th premiere at the Hampstead under Edward Hall and Greg Ripley-Duggan's leadership, which began in 2010.

Cost of Living is at the Hampstead Theatre from 25th January to 2nd March.

_{Photo credit: Mike Quinn}