David Bradley is to play the principal role of Andy in Bijan Sheibani’s production of Harold Pinter’s Moonlight at the Donmar Warehouse from 7 April.
Bradley is no stranger to Pinter’s work, having appeared in No Man’s Land at the Duke of York’s theatre, The Caretaker at the Tricycle theatre and The Homecoming at the National Theatre. His long and distinguished stage career also includes a body of work for the Royal Shakespeare Company, numerous other credits at the National Theatre – winning a Laurence Olivier Award in 1991 for King Lear – and a previous appearance at the Donmar Warehouse in Sam Mendes’s productions of Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya. Bradley is also recognisable for his screen work, not least the role of Filch the caretaker in the Harry Potter film series.
A tragic comedy of family dysfunction, Moonlight centres on Andy, who lies dying in his bed. As his wife, Bel, tries desperately to bring his estranged sons to his side, Andy’s thoughts turn to his youth, loves, lust and fears, while the haunting presence of the things they have all lost swirl in the dark lonely spaces of this suburban household.
Pinter, who died in 2008 while Bradley was appearing in No Man’s Land in the West End, was the Nobel Prize-winning author of numerous plays including Betrayal, The Birthday Party, The Lover & The Collection, The Hothouse and The Dumb Waiter, all of which have received London revivals in recent years.
This revival of Moonlight is directed by Sheibani, whose directorial credits include Our Class at the National Theatre, Gone Too Far at the Royal Court and The Brothers Size at the Young Vic.
Moonlight, which faces the press on 12 April and runs until 28 May, follows King Lear and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in the Donmar Warehouse season.
CB