Entertainment

Andrew Scott to star in Noel Coward play at the Old Vic

The Sherlock and Fleabag star will reunite with director Matthew Warchus.
The Sherlock and Fleabag star will reunite with director Matthew Warchus. The Sherlock and Fleabag star will reunite with director Matthew Warchus.

Andrew Scott has been cast in a new production of Noel Coward’s “laugh-out-loud sex comedy” Present Laughter at London’s Old Vic.

The Sherlock star will appear alongside Indira Varma, Sophie Thompson, Luke Thallon and Suzie Toase in the play, which will be directed by the theatre’s artistic director Matthew Warchus.

Warchus said: “Originally titled Sweet Sorrow, Noel Coward’s most autobiographical work is a giddy and passionate observation of narcissism, hero worship and loneliness.

“Most of my favourite plays are comedies with added emotional dimensions and Present Laughter is a laugh-out-loud sex comedy with, I think, surprising depths.”

Warchus, who directed Scott in the 2014 LGBT historical comedy film Pride, added: “I’m delighted to be working with Andrew Scott again, together with what promises to be a cast of outstanding comic actors.”

The play tells the story of a light comedy actor who must overcome his impending mid-life crisis as he heads overseas for a tour.

Scott, who recently returned to screens in the second series of BBC comedy Fleabag, will appear in Present Laughter from June 25, with previews from June 17.