Bristol Old Vic today announced the full cast for their world premiere production of Gareth Farr’s new play A Child of Science, telling the pioneering story of Robert Edwards, Patrick Steptoe and Jean Purdy’s creation of IVF, and the army of women whose bravery helped them achieve the impossible.
Faced with fierce criticism and hostility and hounded by the media for “playing God”, trials were kept under wraps. But their determination to give hope to thousands of families struggling to conceive eventually led to one of the most remarkable medical breakthroughs of our time: the birth of a baby girl and the creation of IVF, a procedure which has supported the birth of over 12 million babies worldwide over the last 45 years.
Jamie Glover plays obstetrician ‘Patrick Steptoe’. On television, Jamie has most recently been seen in the latest series of Waterloo Road, returning as Ex-Deputy Head, Andrew Treneman; and as Patrick Onley in the current series of Casualty. He starred as James Lacey in five series of Agatha Raisin on Sky, and as Patrick Jephson in The Crown. On stage, he has performed in theatres across the country, including the RSC, the Donmar, the Almeida, Chichester Festival Theatre and the Crucible in Sheffield. Most recently he starred as Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in the West End.
Meg Bellamy plays embryologist ‘Jean Purdy’. Meg is best known for starring as Kate Middleton in the final season of The Crown. This marks Meg’s professional theatre debut.
Adelle Leonce plays ‘Margaret’, representing the hundreds of anonymous women who took part in the gruelling medical trials. Adelle is an established stage and screen actress who most recently appeared in the hit Netflix show Fool Me Once. Prior to that, Adelle starred in the film Bagman for Lionsgate, and on the television show Rosie Malloy Gives Up Everything (Hartswood Films). Other screen credits include Black Mirror: Crocodiles (Netflix) and a series regular on A Discovery of Witches (Sky). Theatre includes the recent Anna Karenina (Sheffield Crucible), Emilia (Vaudeville theatre) and Amadeus (National Theatre). Other theatre credits include Anatomy Of A Suicide and Torn (both Royal Court).
Sonoya Mizuno plays roles including philanthropist ‘Lillian Lincoln Howell’ and ‘Sheena Steptoe’. Sonoya’s credits include multi-award winning La La Land, Annihilation with Natalie Portman, box office smash Crazy Rich Asians and Netflix’s hit series Maniac opposite Emma Stone and Jonah Hill. She has most recently been seen playing the lead role in Alex Garland’s critically acclaimed series, Devs (FX/BBC2) and in HBO’s new Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon. Her stage credits include ‘Maggie’ in the 2022 off-Broadway production of A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Sonoya can next be seen on screen in Am I Ok opposite Dakota Johnson (HBOMax).
They join previously announced Tom Felton as the medical maverick ‘Robert Edwards’. Actor, producer and best-selling author, Tom has garnered critical acclaim for his extensive work on stage and screen, and has established himself as one of the UK’s most beloved actors. He recently starred in Save The Cinema (Sky), and made his stage debut in the Olivier Award-nominated production of 2:22 A Ghost Story, directed by Matthew Dunster at the Criterion Theatre in the West End. Notable screen credits include multi-award-winning films A United Kingdom and Belle, Oscar-nominated The Rise of the Planet of the Apes for Twentieth Century Fox, Netflix hit feature The Forgotten Battle, DC’s The Flash and the Harry Potter franchise. Tom’s recent memoir Beyond the Wand reached the top of both the New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller lists.
The cast is completed by Saikat Ahamed (Bristol Old Vic Associate Artist, credits include Life of Pi – Wyndhams Theatre; Peter Pan – National Theatre; The Miser – Garrick Theatre; Arabian Nights, A Christmas Carol, Treasure Island – all Bristol Old Vic), Gruffudd Glyn (Joseph K and the Cost of Living – National Theatre Wales; Brave New World – Royal & Derngate; Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, Julius Caesar – all RSC), Bobby Hirston (The Play That Goes Wrong – The Duchess Theatre/National Tour; Shandyland – Old Vic 12), Amy Loughton (Animal – Park Theatre & UK tour; Crackers – Polka Theatre; Romeo & Juliet – Southwark Playhouse; Henry Vand The Tempest – Shakespeare Rose Theatre, York), Bebe Sanders (Twelfth Night – Orange Tree; 3 Winters – National Theatre; White Fang – Park Theatre) and Everal A Walsh (Rockets and Blue Lights – National Theatre, Royal Exchange Manchester; A Christmas Carol – Leeds Playhouse; Amadeus, The Amen Corner and The Comedy of Errors – National Theatre).
Gareth Farr, Matthew Dunster and their partners were only able to have children thanks to the science of IVF. The creative team was very carefully selected so that this personal story was told by a diverse and passionate group of artists, many of whom have their own fertility stories.
Of the acting company, Matthew says: “I’m very excited about the actors that are heading to Bristol to work with me on Gareth Farr’s extraordinary, revelatory and emotional play. I’ve worked with Tom Felton recently in the West End and I know what a terrific stage actor he is, and I’ve admired so many of our other actors from afar, not least Meg Bellamy in her detailed and sensitive portrayal of Kate Middleton in The Crown recently. This will be Meg’s stage debut, and she and the rest of this exciting ensemble are raring to go and can’t wait to bring this story to life at Bristol Old Vic.”
Gareth Farr’s debut full-length play, Britannia Waves the Rules, won the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting in 2011 and was produced at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. His second play, The Quiet House (Birmingham Rep Theatre) transferred to Park Theatre in London in 2016. A short film of The Quiet House was later commissioned by Fertility Fest in association with the Wellcome Trust and produced in 2019. Gareth’s third play Shandyland was originally developed as part of the prestigious Old Vic 12 scheme and he is currently adapting it for BBC Radio 4. His most recent play Biscuits For Breakfast ran last spring at the Hampstead Theatre, where he is currently under commission.
Director Matthew Dunster has directed or written over sixty theatre shows, often with major national companies (including the RSC, National Theatre, Royal Court, Young Vic, Royal Exchange, Shakespeare’s Globe and The Bridge), as well as directing on the West End, Broadway and internationally. He has been the Associate Director of The Young Vic and Shakespeare’s Globe. His most recent productions are 2:22 A Ghost Story (which ran in the West End for 694 performances), Shirley Valentine and The Pillowman (both The Duke of York’s), and The Homecoming (Young Vic). Matthew has been nominated for four Olivier Awards and his Broadway production of Hangmen was nominated for five Tonys. In January 2025, he will direct Conor McPherson’s stage adaptation of The Hunger Games.
A Child of Science set design is by Olivier Award-winning and Tony-nominated designer Anna Fleischle. Anna’s credits include Nachtland – Young Vic; The Time Traveller’s Wife – West End; The Pillowman – West End; The Collaboration – Broadway/Young Vic; Death Of A Salesman – Broadway/Young Vic/West End; 2:22 A Ghost Story – West-End/LA/Tour/Melbourne; Hangmen – Broadway/West End/Royal Court; Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – West End/UK tour/LA and Home, I’m Darling – National Theatre/West End/Tour.
The creative team is completed by Costume Designer and Associate Set Designer Angelica Rush (Eclipse – Winner of the APDG Emerging Designer 2023; Ghost Stories Australia – Atheneum Theatre, Associate Designer for Jon Bausor; 2:22 A Ghost Story Australia – Her Majesty’s Theatre, Associate Designer for Anna Fleischle). Lighting Designer Sally Ferguson (recent credits The Duchess of Malfi – Shakespeare’s Globe; The Homecoming – Young Vic), Sound Designer Holly Khan (Olivier-nominated Blackout Songs – Hampstead Theatre; Tess – Sadlers Wells with Ockhams Razor; Dreaming and Drowning – The Bush), Composer Genevieve Dawson (albums include Letters I Won’t Send, What’s Mine is Yours; and toured internationally with Anna B Savage), Video Designer Gino Ricardo Green (Tambo and Bones – Theatre Royal Stratford East; August In England and Lava – Bush Theatre; Othello – National Theatre, Co-Video Designer), Hair and Make Up Designer Zoë Louise Gale (Six: The Musical; Hamilton – both West End) and Associate Director Alix Harris (Founder and Artistic Director of Beyond Face; outside of Beyond Face recent credits: The Honeyman – Exeter Northcott; I Am Because We Are – Contact Theatre).
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