Cast update for Before The Party at Almeida Theatre

Cast announced for Before The Party, by Rodney Ackland, based on a short story by Somerset Maugham, which is at The Almeida Theatre, an Off West End venue in Angel, north London, from 21 Mar to 11 May 2013.

The cast includes Katherine Parkinson (Laura Skinner), Stella Gonet (Blanche), Alex Price (David), Michelle Terry (Kathleen Skinner), Michael Thomas (Aubrey), June Watson (Nanny), Polly Dartford. Anna Devlin and Emily Lane will alternate the role of Susan Skinner.

It is directed by Matthew Dunster, designed by Anna Fleischle, lighting by Philip Gladwell, soyund by Ian Dickinson.

The war is over and the Skinner family are trying to return to normal. If only the blasted Government weren't such a nuisance about the rations and Cook could get some more of those delicious delicacies. With daughter Laura returned from Africa, widowed but not alone, they prepare for the latest social gathering. Amidst the never-ending whirl of hats and dresses and below stairs skirmishes, Laura reveals a shocking secret that threatens to ruin more than one party on the climb to social success.

Katherine Parkinson was last on stage in Alan Ayckbourn' s Absent Friends at the Harold Pinter Theatre. She is best known on television for playing Jen in the Channel 4 series The IT Crowd. Stella Gonet was last seen on stage in Top Girls at Trafalgar Studios. She won the RTS Best Actress Award for her role in the BBC drama Trip Trap. Alex Price theatre credits include Electra for the Gate Theatre. Michelle Terry can currently be seen in In the Republic of Happiness at the Royal Court. Michael Thomas previously appeared in the Almeida's production of Waste and Festen. June Watson can currently be seen on stage at the Vaudeville Theatre in Uncle Vanya.