IAN REDFORD was praised for his performance as Dr Johnson in April De Angelis’ hit comedy A Laughing Matter for Out of Joint and the National Theatre. He has performed at the Old Vic and Shakespeare’s Globe, and for two years played Keith Appleyard in Coronation Street.

Rowlandson illustration of Johnson and Boswell in the Hebrides. Thanks to Dr Johnson's House

Johnson’s friend and biographer, James Boswell, and other small roles, will be played at the Arts Theatre by LUKE GRIFFIN*. Luke recently performed in our revival tour of Richard Bean’s hit comedy The Big Fellah. He has appeared extensively at Dublin’s leading theatres including the Abbey and Gaiety, and performed in the RSC’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore in the West End and Rankat the Tricycle. Film and television work includes Band of Brothers and Borstal Boy.

TRUDIE STYLER** plays Hester Thrale, Johnson’s final and unrequited love. Trudie studied drama at Bristol Old Vic before performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company during the 1980s. She has appeared regularly on British television and in film. Her more recent acting credits include a guest appearance in Friends, a major role in the ABC series Empire, and the highly acclaimed BBC series Love Soup. Film roles include Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister; Me Without You; Cheeky; Alpha Male; Living Proof with Harry Connick Jnr; Paris Connections; and, in 2011, Paul Haggis’s The Next Three Days. In the spring of 2006, Trudie and her husband Sting joined together on Broadway for the US debut performance of Twin Spirits to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. This emotional piece about the lives of composers Robert and Clara Schumann has now been performed several times as a fundraiser and at cultural festivals, and his recently been filmed by the BBC. With her company, Xingu Films, Trudie has produced films including Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, the Sundance Prize-winning A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, and award-winning documentaries Moving the Mountain and The Sweatbox.

Director Max Stafford-Clark is artistic director of Out of Joint and has directed acclaimed productions at the National Theatre, RSC and the Royal Court.

*Russell Barr, who was scheduled to play Boswell, is now unavailable due to illness. We wish him well.
**Trudie Styler will not appear 9, 10, and 21-24 SEPTEMBER