Orlando Bloom

Orlando Bloom to star in London revival of Killer Joe this summer

Will Longman
Will Longman

Orlando Bloom will star in a revival of Tracy Letts' debut play Killer Joe, which will run at Trafalgar Studios this summer.

Set at a trailer park in Dallas, Texas, it tells the story of the Smith family who hire a hitman to murder the matriarch to stake a claim to the insurance money. They hire Joe Cooper (Bloom), part-time private detective, part-time hitman, but when the family can't produce his cash up front, he relies on other means of pay.

Directed by Simon Evans (whose production of The Best Man currently runs at the Playhouse Theatre), it will run at Trafalgar Studio One from 18th May to 18th August.

Bloom's stage credits include a Broadway adaptation of Romeo and Juliet in 2013, but he made his professional stage debut in the West End in David Storey's In Celebration at the Duke of York's in 2007. He is best-known for his film work in The Hobbit trilogy and the Pirates of the Caribbean series.

Killer Joe was last seen in the West End in 1995, when the Bush Theatre's production, directed by Wilson Milan, ran at the Vaudeville Theatre. In 2013, Letts adapted his play into a Hollywood film starring Matthew McConaughey in the title role, and directed by William Friedkin.

Killer Joe is at Trafalgar Studio One from 18th May to 18th August.

Killer Joe tickets are available now.

Photo credit Gage Skidmore (flickr)

Originally published on

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