The Stephen Joseph Theatre returns to the New Vic from Tuesday 14 to Saturday 25 October to present Earth Angel, the 91st play from one of the UK’s most successful playwrights, Alan Ayckbourn (Just Between Ourselves, Show & Tell, Constant Champions, Family Album).
Earth Angel is a love story, a mystery and an observation about loss and community and follows the story of Gerald, who recently lost his wife of many years.
As Gerald struggles to think about life without his wife, he tries to put a brave face on things, accepting help from fussy neighbours and mudding through as best he can. When a mysterious stranger turns up at the wake offering a helping hand, is he all that he appears?
Alan Ayckbourn’s 91st play showcases the writer’s ability to create distinctive theatre that entertains whilst also offering a commentary on the world of today – in this case exploring how society judges people through the lens of the internet and social media.
The cast of this production includes: Elizabeth Boag (Emmerdale, ITV Studios; Family Album, Stephen Joseph Theatre and UK Tour; Silent Witness, BBC Studios; Caroline’s Kitchen, Invincible, Original Theatre/UK tour/New York) as Norah Tussock, Iskandar Eaton (Love’s Labour’s Lost, Royal Shakespeare Company; Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, West End; Gangsta Granny, UK Tour) as Daniel; Stuart Fox (Drowning on Dry Land, Stephen Joseph Theatre; The Woman In Black, West End; The Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Educating Rita, Mill at Sonning; After the Ball, Gate House Theatre; Return of the Jedi, Lucasfilm Production; The Heretic, I Ought To Be In Pictures, Library Theatre, Manchester) as Adrian Prosper; Liza Goddard (Communicating Doors; Life Of Riley, If I Were You and The Grass is Greener, Stephen Joseph Theatre; The Importance of Being Earnest, Richmond Theatre, Touring; Midsommer Murders, Bentley Productions/ITV; Lady Windermere’s Fan, National Tour) as Maxine Mallet; Russel Richardson (Noises Off, New Wolsey/Queens Theatre Hornchurch/Les Theatres Della Ville de Luxembourg/Theatre by the Lake; Brassed Off, Theatre By The Lake/Stephen Joseph Theatre and Octagon Bolton; Coronation Street, ITV Studios; The Book of Will, Shakespeare North Playhouse/Octagon; To Have To Shoot Irishmen, Liverpool Everyman) as Gerald Mallet and Hayden Wood (The Play The Goes Wrong, West End; Notes From A Small Island, Much Ado About Nothing, The Prince & The Pauper, Watermill; Alice’s Adventures Underground, Snail, Vaults; Doctor Who: Time Fracture, West End; Twelfth Night, Actors From The London Stage, US tour) as Hugo Skates.
Alan Ayckbourn said: “We have to remember there are still good things floating about in the world today though it’s often hard to see them. But the good is still there if we look for it.”
Earth Angel runs at the New Vic from Tuesday 14 – Saturday 25 October 2025.For more information visit newvictheatre.org.uk