Entertainment

Coronavirus: Stephen Fry to star in online play


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Fry said he was delighted to be working on the adaptation

Stephen Fry will star in a new online radio play to raise funds for the theatre industry as it deals with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Emily Atack, Sarah Hadland and Russell Tovey will also appear in The Understudy, based on the novel by David Nicholls.

The play will be broadcast online in two parts in May to members of the public who have bought a £5 ‘ticket’.

All the actors involved will record their lines separately at home.

Nicholls said he was “hugely excited” to see his 2005 novel “come to life on a new online stage”.

Emily AtackImage copyright
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Emily Atack first found fame in comedy TV series The Inbetweeners

Fry said he hoped lots of people would “combine a good time with support for our wonderful theatre industry”.

Proceeds will be donated to the Theatre Development Trust, Acting for Others and other charities.

The Understudy tells of a struggling actor who is hired to understudy a film star in a West End show.

Minar Anwar, Sheila Atim and Layton Williams are among the other actors involved.

Produced by the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield, the play will be broadcast on 20 and 27 May at www.understudyplay.com.

The theatre industry is one of many struggling during the coronavirus pandemic, with all theatres currently closed in the UK due to the lockdown.

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