My Night With Reg, Apollo Theatre

Coming to the Apollo in January after excellent reviews at the Donmar is Kevin Elyot's My Night with Reg. Julian Ovenden, Lewis Reeves and Jonathan Broadbent will reprise their performances.

The Story...

Set amid the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s London gay community, the play follows a group of friends over the course of several years. We never meet the promiscuous Reg of the title, but a night spent with him changes the course of the each character's life. The hilarity and vulnerability that ensue present a touching portrait of the nature of friendship and happiness. 

The Production...

Director Robert Hastie (Trainee Associate Director at the Donmar) will remain at the helm. Originally a RADA trained actor, Hastie has worked with the National Theatre, the RSC and Frantic Assembly. He was also the associate director of the Much Ado About Nothing at the Wyndham’s Theatre which starred David Tennant and Catherine Tate.

The cast is made up of a combination of rising stars and stage regulars: Matt Bardock was in the original cast of Jez Butterworth’s Mojo, Geoffrey Streatfeild was in both Spooks and The Thick of It, and trained opera singer Julian Ovenden is best known for his role as Charles Blake in Downton Abbey. 

Twenty years since opening, after winning an Olivier and Evening Standard Award, the Donmar's production of My Night With Reg was its first major revival. It was poignantly timed. The Royal Court premier in 1994 captured a moment perfectly; its comedy was darkly representative of a struggle which had not yet abated. In 2014, the fight against AIDS is a very different battle, and much less confined to the gay community, yet this is not a ‘gay’ play or simply a show about disease. My Night With Reg is a microcosm of humanity and all of its joy and tragedy. The play's revival at the Apollo reflects its continued and striking contemporary relevance.