FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN

FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN

Full casting has been announced for Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan , which opens at the Haymarket Theatre 21st Feb 02, following previews from 13th Feb 02.

The cast includes Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson (Mother & Daughter) will star together for the first time in a major West End production.

The cast will feature Jack Davenport as 'Lord Darlington', John McCallum as 'Lord Augustus', Googie Withers as 'The Duchess of Berwick' and David Yelland as 'Lord Windermere'. Also in the cast are Peter Gordon, Roger Hammond, Robert Hands, Richard Laing, Amanda Shillabeer and Clare Swinburne.

Lady Windermere's Fan , a social satire centring on society wife 'Lady Windermere', is one of Oscar Wilde's best loved plays. The highly moral 'Lady Windermere' rebuffs 'Mrs Erlynne' who has been disgraced by the rumours of her scandalous extra-marital affair. When 'Lady Windermere's' naivety leads her to the brink of ruin, it is 'Mrs Erlynne' who saves her before being revealed as the mother she has never known.

Vanessa Redgrave takes the role of 'Mrs Erlynne'. Her most recent theatre credits include "The Cherry Orchard" at the Royal National Theatre, "The Tempest" at Shakespeare's Globe and "A Song at Twilight" at the Gielgud Theatre. Film and TV work include her Oscar winning role in the 1977 film "Julia", "A Man for all Seasons", Ken Russell's "The Devils", "Howards End" and most recently HBO's "If These Walls Could Talk", for which Vanessa won both Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress. She is currently filming "A Lonely War", playing Clementine Churchill opposite Albert Finney.

Joely Richardson who plays the title role, recently returned to the stage in the Off-Broadway production of "Madame Melville" playing opposite Macauley Culkin. Other theatre credits include "Miss Julie" at the Liverpool Playhouse, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with the RSC and "Steel Magnolias" in the West End. Her film and TV work include "Lady Chatterley", "Maybe Baby", "101 Dalmatians" and "The Patriot". Joely's most recent role is that of Marie Antoinette in "The Affair of the Necklace", which is now on general release. She has just completed filming on the British independent film "Shoreditch", in which she plays the glamorous nightclub singer 'Butterfly'.

The play is directed by Peter Hall who enjoyed tremendous success with his last Wilde production "An Ideal Husband", which ran for seven years in the UK as well as enjoying a successful Broadway run and national tour of Australia. The production will be designed by John Gunter, with lighting by Jon Buswell.