Whatsonstage.com has confirmed that actor Con O'Neill will take over Matt Lucas' role of Kenneth Halliwell in the West End production of Simon Bent's Prick Up Your Ears at the Comedy Theatre on October 22. He will replace Matt Lucas, who left the production last week in the wake of the suicide of his ex-partner, Kevin McGee, as previously reported.
In a statement, the show producers said, "Given the sad news that Matt Lucas has recently received, and the role he was playing, it is understandable that he could not return to play Halliwell at this time and our thoughts are with him...Ongoing support for our production from audiences at the Comedy Theatre over the past week has been wonderful and given the huge investment from our cast, director, writer and production team, we are delighted that the brilliant Con O'Neill is joining our company so that the show that we are so proud of can complete its West End run."
Lucas and McGee had wed in 2006 and had gotten divorced earlier this year.
The production is directed by Daniel Kramer and stars Chris New and Gwen Taylor. Design by Peter McKintosh, lighting by Peter Mumford, and sound by Gareth Owen.
The play is a dark comedy inspired by Joe Orton's diaries and the John Lahr biography of the same name. It centers on the relationship between Orton and lover Kenneth Halliwell, which ended in 1967 after Halliwell bludgeoned Orton to death before committing suicide.
For more information, visit www.whatsonstage.com.
He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1988 for "Best Actor in a Musical" for his performance in Willy Russell's Blood Brothers, and was nominated for Broadway's 1993 Tony Award as Best Actor (Musical) for Blood Brothers. He also starred in Dancin' Thru the Dark, the film adaptation of Willy Russell's Stags and Hens. In 1992 he played Cougar Glass opposite Jude Law in the world premiere of Philip Ridley's stage play, The Fastest Clock In The Universe. In 2006 he starred as Aston in a tour of Sheffield Theatre's production of Harold Pinter's The Caretaker, alongside David Bradley and Nigel Harman. In 2008 he appeared in Criminal Justice a five part TV drama on the BBC, playing the part of Ralph Stone, a solicitor. He also played the part of Joe Meek in both the play and film of Meek's life, Telstar.
