Ava Potter, star of Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s hugely successful production of To Kill A Mockingbird, will lead the cast of the venue’s 2016 family production, Running Wild.
Potter will share the role of Will in Samuel Adamson’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s popular story with fellow young performers Joshua Fernandes and Tyler Osborne at the al fresco theatre from 13 May to 12 June.
They will take it in turns to play the hero of Morpurgo’s moving story of love, loss, loyalty and living for the moment. Set in Indonesia where Will has travelled with his mum, their holiday takes a terrifying turn when a tsunami hits the coast. Left clinging for dear life to the charging elephant Oona, he is carried to the middle of a rainforest where he must learn to survive.
The central trio will be joined in the thrilling adventure by fellow To Kill A Mockingbird star Hattie Ladbury, Ira Mandela Siobhan (Fela!, National Theatre), Complicite regulars Eric Mallett and Joyce Henderson, Downton Abbey’s Stephen Ventura and Okorie Chukwu, who returns to the venue following last year’s Olivier Award-nominated Peter Pan.
Alongside a further 57 young performers aged between nine and 19-years-old making up the ensemble, the production will also feature a company of all-important puppeteers who will bring to life the creations by War Horse’s Finn Caldwell and Toby Olié.
Running Wild will open the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s summer season, which also includes productions of Henry V, Jesus Christ Superstar and the return of 2013’s hit Pride And Prejudice.