The cast of¬†Shadowlands¬†will be led by¬†Stephen Boxer¬†(Humans,¬†The Iron Lady,¬†Doctors) as C.S. Lewis,¬†Tony Slattery¬†(Peter‚Äôs Friends,¬†The Crying Game,¬†Whose Line is it Anyway?) as Major W.H. Lewis ‘Warnie’ and¬†Amanda Ryan¬†(The Forsyte Saga,¬†Shameless) as Joy Davidman.
They will be joined by Simon Shackleton as Professor Christopher Riley, Jeffrey Harmer as Rev ‘Harry’ Harrington, Ian Marr as Alan Gregg, Richard Holliday as Dr Maurice Oakley and Shannon Rewcroft as Douglas, with Holly Smith and Alistair Higgins playing multiple supporting roles.
Shadowlands, by William Nicholson, tells the love story of C.S. Lewis, Oxford don and author of The Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters, and American poet Joy Davidman. What begins as a formal meeting of two very different minds slowly develops into a feeling of connection and love. Lewis finds his quiet life with his brother Warnie disrupted by the outspoken, feisty Davidman, whose uninhibited behaviour offers a sharp contrast to the rigid sensibilities of the male-dominated university. Each provides the other with new ways of viewing the world, but Lewis’s Christian faith is tested when Joy is diagnosed with cancer.
Shadowlands won the Evening Standard Drama Award for Best Play in 1990 and Nicholson was nominated for a Tony Award when it transferred to Broadway.  The film version, which starred Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger, won Best British Film at the 1994 BAFTAs and Nicholson was nominated for a Best Screenplay nomination.
This major revival of¬†Shadowlands¬†is produced by Birdsong Productions, the people behind the recent critically-acclaimed and hugely successful touring productions of¬†Birdsong¬†and¬†Flare Path,¬†in association with Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.
Shadowlands will have lighting design by Alex Wardle and sound design by Dominic Bilkey.
Shadowlands runs in the Main House at Salisbury Playhouse from Monday 29 February to Saturday 5 March. For tickets or further information please contact the Ticket Office on 01722 320333 or visit www.salisburyplayhouse.com.