Actor Scot Williams brings Hope to the Royal Court
He's been teasing his Twitter followers for a while now, and finally Liverpool actor Scot Williams can reveal all about his latest project.Hope is a brand new stage play that will receive its world premiere at Royal Court Liverpool in March 2013, and tickets went on sale this weekDescribed as a “darkly comic psychological thriller”, it stars Williams, Good Cop star Mark Womack, The Bill regular Rene Zagger – and the elusive Hope of the title, whose identity has yet to be revealed…For Womack, who’s long list of credits include Ken Loach’s Route Irish as well as Murphy’s Law and Martina Cole’s The Runaway, it is a rare return to the stage. No stranger to working with Williams, they both appeared in Hillsborough, Liverpool One and Merseybeat.Similarly, it has been 18 years since Williams has trod the boards in Liverpool, and in the intervening years he has notched up a number of hit credits, including the films Backbeat, Swing, and The Crew. On television, he has starred in Nice Guy Eddie alongside Ricky Tomlinson, Cape Wrath with David Morrissey and Tom Hardy, and as Father Melia in the period drama, Lillies.Rene Zagger began his television career in Grange Hill, and has most recently appeared in Martina Cole’s The Take, as King Herod in Rome and in the movie Hard Boiled Sweets in which he co-starred alongside Williams.But, like the play itself, who will star in the title role of Hope remains a mystery, which according to the producers, is all about preparing the audience to expect the unexpected.Said Williams: “It’s a proud moment for me to see the world premiere of my latest play in my home city of Liverpool and also to be able to share the Royal Court stage with two very fine actors, Mark and René. We will be revealing who will star in the title role of Hope in the New Year, but until then my lips are sealed.”He added: “Hope is a dark comedy full of intrigue, mystery and suspense with some engaging and funny sparring between Mark and Rene’s characters in particular. There are familiar music and film references which underpin the story, but the big question posed throughout is ‘who is Hope?’”The actor’s own production company, Thirty7, is behind the play and Hope is its maiden production since Williams founded the company with Eric Woollard-White, who gave up his role as the right-hand man to Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones to get involved.Royal Court CEO Kevin Fearon said: “It’s great working with Eric and Scot and, for us, we see the long-term benefits of working with an exciting and innovative new production company with a great energy that matches our own high standards and artistic ambitions for the future.”Tickets for Hope start at £12 (previews £10) and are on sale now for the show’s strictly limited run from March 6 to 23, 2013. Contact the box office on 0870 787 1866 or check online at: www.royalcourtliverpool.com.
