Rufus Hound Set to Join West End's ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS

Actor, stand-up comic and presenter Rufus Hound will join the cast of Nicholas Hytner's five star West End production of One Man, Two Guvnors to play lovable chancer Frances Henshall in Richard Bean's award-winning version of Carlo Goldoni's classic Italian comedy The Servant of Two Masters.

Rufus Hound will join the West End cast on 4 February 2013 having played the role in the current UK touring production. The West End production of One Man, Two Guvnors has recently announced a further new booking period releasing over 200, 000 new tickets for sale taking bookings at the Theatre Royal Haymarket to 31 August 2013.

Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect £6,000 from his fiancee's dad. But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who's been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers. Holed up at the Cricketers' Arms, the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be re-united with Rachel. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple.

With songs by Grant Olding performed by The Craze, One Man, Two Guvnors physical comedy director is Cal McCrystal. Designs are by Mark Thompson, with lighting by Mark Henderson, sound design by Paul Arditti, fight direction by Kate Waters and choreography and associate direction by Adam Penford.

Rufus Hound is best known as a comedian and TV and radio personality, where his work includes seven series of the award-winning Celebrity Juice, the BBC sitcom Hounded, 8 out of 10 Cats, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and ITV1 primetime hit comedy show Mad Mad World. He is soon be seen in series 2 of A Touch of Cloth for Sky. His radio credits include Act Your Age and My Teenage Diary for BBC Radio 4, as well as his own comedy show What's So Funny. Hound's film credits include Wedding Video and My Big Fat Gypsy Gangster. In addition Hound has presented Top of the Pops, Glastonbury Live and Out Take TV, all for the BBC.

Richard Bean's plays include England People Very Nice for the National, The Heretic, Harvest (winner of the Critics' Circle Award for Best New Play), Honeymoon Suite, Under the Whaleback and Toast for the Royal Court and The Big Fellah for Out of Joint at the Lyric Hammersmith and on tour. He adapted David Mamet's House of Games and wrote a new version of The Hypochondriac for The Almeida Theatre. Bean won the 2011 Evening Standard Award for Best Play for One Man, Two Guvnors and The Heretic.

Since he became Director of the National in April 2003, Nicholas Hytner has directed Henry V, His Dark Materials, The History Boys, Stuff Happens, Henry IV, Southwark Fair, The Alchemist, The Man of Mode, The Rose Tattoo (with Stephen Pimlott), Rafta, Rafta … , Much Ado About Nothing, Major Barbara, England People Very Nice, Phèdre, The Habit of Art, London Assurance, Hamlet, Collaborators, Travelling Light and Timon of Athens. Hytner's production of People opened earlier this week.

One Man, Two Guvnors opened at The National Theatre in May 2011. In November last year, after its first UK tour, the show opened in the West End at the Adelphi Theatre where it completed a sell out run. The Broadway production of One Man, Two Guvnors recently completed its successful run at the Music Box Theater, where James Corden won the Tony Award for Best Actor. A second UK tour continues to February 2013 with the show embarking on an international tour immediately afterwards.

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