Leo Bill, Simona Bitmate and More Set in THE SILENCE OF THE SEA - Full Casting Announced!

Full casting has been announced for THE SILENCE OF THE SEA, by Vercors, in a version by Anthony Weigh, part of the Donmar Trafalgar Season, running 10 January – 2 February 2013
Press night: Monday 14 January at 7pm.

The director is Simon Evans; designer, Ben Stones, lighting designer, David Plater; and sound designer, Gregory Clarke.  

Leo Bill, Simona Bitmaté and Finbar Lynch will appear in Anthony Weigh's version of Vercors' play.

In a time of conflict, a soldier (Leo Bill) is billeted to the home of an old man (Finbar Lynch) and his niece (Simona Bitmaté). Powerless to turn him away, they resist him with silence - a silence that becomes their most potent weapon.

This exquisitely constructed human drama examines an excruciating dilemma faced by both the occupier and the occupied. Donmar Associate Artist Anthony Weigh casts new light on Vercors' testament to the enduring power of the human spirit.

Leo Bill's theatre credits include Posh at the Royal Court and Duke of York's, The Way of the World at Sheffield Crucible Theatre, School for Scandal at the Barbican and Pains of Youth, The Observer, The Hothouse and The Reporter all at The National Theatre. He has appeared in numerous feature films including The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland and Becoming Jane. His television work includes Dr Who: A Christmas Carol, The Borgias, Pramface and the upcoming The White Queen.

Simona Bitmaté graduated from the Central School of Speech and Drama in 2010. She played Chacha in You Always Forget Something at the Arcola Theatre and has appeared in Under a Foreign Sky at the Unicorn Theatre and on tour. Her television work includes Doctors for the BBC.

Finbar Lynch's previous work for the Donmar includes Hecuba, The Green Fields Beyond, Fool for Love and Translations. His other theatre work includes Desire Under the Elms at the Lyric Hammersmith, The Duchess of Malfi at the Old Vic as well as numerous appearances at the RSC, National Theatre and the West End. His television work includes Silk, The Hollow Crown: Richard II, Dalziel and Pascoe and Waking the Dead, along with numerous film roles.

Born Jean Marcel Bruller in 1902, the French writer and illustrator joined the Resistance during World War II and took on the pseudonym Vercors, in which his texts were published. Several of his novels have fantasy or science fiction themes. The 1952 novel Les Animaux dénaturés (translated variously into English as You Shall Know Them, Borderline, and The Murder of the Missing Link) was made into the 1970 film Skullduggery, and examines the question of what it means to be human. In 1960 he wrote Sylva, a novel about a fox who turns into a woman, inspired by David Garnett's 1922 Lady into Fox. The English translation was nominated for the 1963 Hugo Award for Best Novel. Vercors died in 1991.

Anthony Weigh graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney and has worked extensively as an actor both in Australia and internationally. In 2003 he undertook a Masters in Playwriting at the University of Birmingham. His first full length play, 2,000 Feet Away had its world premiere at Belvoir Street Theatre, Sydney in November of 2007 and made its UK premiere in June 2008 at the Bush Theatre, London directed by Josie Rourke. Other work at the Bush Theatre includes Like a Fishbone (2010) and Flooded Grave (2011).

Simon Evans was Resident Assistant Director at the Donmar Warehouse from 2010 - 2011 working on Richard II, Inadmissible Evidence, Anna Christie, Luise Miller, Moonlight and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He was Staff Director at The National Theatre, Creative Associate at the Bush Theatre and Associate Director at the White Bear Theatre. He is Artistic Director of Black and White Rainbow theatre company. As director, his work includes Thom Pain (The Print Room), Madness in Valencia (Trafalgar Studios), Apple Pie, Hours Till Autumn (Riverside Studios) and Skyscraper (Public, New York). As Associate Director his work includes The Duchess of Malfi (Old Vic) and Finding Neverland (Weinstein Live Entertainment).

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