A new play based on Silence of the Lambs will make its world premiere play debut in Leicester this August before embarking on a UK tour that includes dates in Buxton and Nottingham.
British actor, singer, presenter, writer and director John Partridge will be donning the iconic mask as the refined and sadistic Dr Hannibal Lecter. His credits include CATS and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, but he is mostly known for starring as Christian Clarke in EastEnders.
Fo those that don’t know the tale, here goes…When FBI trainee Clarice Starling is sent to interview the psychiatrist and infamous murderer Hannibal Lecter, it’s hoped his brilliant mind will help catch the sadistic new serial killer, Buffalo Bill. Another girl is missing, and time is running out. But Dr Lecter has questions of his own, and now Clarice must decide: keep a safe distance, or let Hannibal ‘The Cannibal’ into her head?
Acclaimed television writer and playwright Gina Gionfriddo (Law & Order (NBC), House of Cards (Netflix), Becky Shaw) has brought Thomas Harris’s gripping literary masterpiece to the stage in a new modern adaptation directed by Curve’s Artistic Director, Nikolai Foster.
Gionfriddo’s theatrical adaptation delves into the psychological tension of Thomas Harris’s landmark novel, drawing the audience deep into Clarice and Lecter’s intelligent, intricate, and bone-chilling game of cat-and-mouse, as the FBI scramble to catch Buffalo Bill, a serial killer still at large.
John Partridge says of his casting in the upcoming tour ‘’How often does an actor get to play a role that by simply saying the character’s name, it takes your breath away. It’s a huge honour, and I intend to savour every morsel of it!’’
Director Nikolai Foster adds: “Taking on a role like Hannibal Lecter requires real guts, tenacity and an appetite to confront the darkest depths of the human condition.
“Working with John on the role has been incredibly inspiring – his instincts are razor sharp – and there is no finer actor to bring to life Thomas Harris’s most chilling creation in our world premiere stage adaptation.”
