Full cast announced for The Ruling Class at Trafalgar

The full cast has been announced for the next production in the Trafalgar Transformed season, The Ruling Class by Peter Barnes which will run at the Trafalgar Studios from 16 January 2015 to 11 April 2015, with an official opening on 27 January.

Joining the previously announced BAFTA winning and Golden Globe nominated actor James McAvoy who will return to the Trafalgar Studios following his previous run in 'Macbeth', will be:

Ron Cook (Sir Charles Gurney), Kathryn Drysdale (Grace Shelley), Joshua McGuire (Dinsdale Gurney), Anthony O'Donnell (Daniel Tucker), Michael Cronin (Bishop Bertie Lampton), Serena Evans (Lady Claire Gurney), Paul Leonard (Ralph Gurney), Elliot Levey (Dr Herder), Forbes Masson (McKyle) and ensemble cast; Rosy Benjamin, Andrew Bloomer and Oliver Lavery.

Directed by Jamie Lloyd, the production will feature designs by Soutra Gilmour, lighting design by Jon Clark and sound design by Ben and Max Ringham. Choreography will be by Darren Carnall and musical direction by Huw Evans

"Jack, a possible paranoid schizophrenic with a Messiah complex, inherits the title of the 14th Earl of Gurney after his father passes away in a bizarre accident. Singularly unsuited to a life in the upper echelons of elite society, Jack finds himself at the centre of a ruthless power struggle as his scheming family strives to uphold their reputation."

The Ruling Class premiered in 1968 at the Nottingham Playhouse and transferred to the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End where it won the Evening Standard Award for Best Drama in 1969. This black and caustic class comedy was then made into a movie in 1972 starring Peter O'Toole.

Ron Cook's previous stage credits include: 'Henry V' (Noel Coward Theatre), 'King Lear', 'Trelawny of the Wells' and 'Juno and the Paycock' (Donmar Warehouse), 'Twelfth Night', 'Hamlet' (Wyndham's Theatre) and 'The Seafarer' (National Theatre).

Serena Evans' stage credits include 'Inadmissible Evidence' (Donmar Warehouse), 'The School For Scandal' (Theatre Royal, Bath), 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' (Shakespeare's Globe), 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park), and 'Once In A Lifetime', 'Remember This' and 'The Recruiting Officer' all at the National Theatre.

Joshua McGuire's stage credits include 'Amadeus' (Chichester Festival Theatre), 'Privacy' (Donmar Warehouse), 'The Magistrate' (National Theatre), 'Posh' (The Royal Court and Duke of York's) and 'Hamlet' (Shakespeare's Globe).

Kathryn Drysdale's stage credits include 'The Recruiting Officer' (Donmar Warehouse), 'Love's Labour's Lost' and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (Royal Shakespeare Company), and 'Catch' at The Royal Court.

Anthony O'Donnell has worked extensively at the National Theatre in productions such as 'The Captain of Kopenick', 'President of an Empty Room', 'The London Cuckolds', 'Under Milk Wood', 'The Way of the World', 'The Miser', 'The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui', 'Ghetto', 'The Shaughraun' and 'Bartholomew Fair'. Credits for the RSC include 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'The Witch of Edmonton' and 'The Winter's Tale'.

Elliot Levey's stage credits include 'Danton's Death', 'The Habit of Art', 'All's Well that Ends Well', 'England People Very Nice', 'Henry IV Parts 1 and 2' and 'His Dark Materials' all for the National Theatre, alongside 'Kafka's Dick' at the Theatre Royal Bath, 'Coriolanus' at the Donmar Warehouse and 'Canvas' at the Chichester Festival Theatre.

Paul Leonard was last on stage in 'Richard III' starring Martin Freeman, the first production in season two for Trafalgar Transformed. His other stage credits include 'Richard III' at the Savoy Theatre and RSC Stratford, 'Alice in Wonderland' at the Barbican and RSC Stratford and the original cast of 'Les Misérables' at the Barbican and Palace Theatre.