Simon Mendes da Costa

Simon Mendes da Costa

Simon Mendes da Costa is a playwright.He trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School between 1989 and 1991. His first play, Table for One, opened at the Hen and Chickens Theatre on 6 November 2001...

's play, Losing Louis, is a black comedy, first premiered at Hampstead Theatre

Hampstead Theatre

Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...

 on the 26th January 2005 and later transferred to Trafalgar Studios

Trafalgar Studios

Trafalgar Studios, formerly The Whitehall Theatre until 2004, is a West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London....

. The original cast included Alison Steadman

Alison Steadman

Alison Steadman OBE is an English actress. She established her career with roles such as Beverley in Abigail's Party and Candice Marie in Nuts in May for the director Mike Leigh, to whom she was once married. In addition to her stage and radio work, she has had lead roles in The Singing Detective,...

, Lynda Bellingham

Lynda Bellingham

Lynda Bellingham is a Canadian-born English actress, broadcaster and author, who is known for her distinctive husky voice.-Early life:...

 and Brian Protheroe

Brian Protheroe

Brian Protheroe , of a Welsh father and English mother, is a musician and actor.-Career:Protheroe joined a local church choir when he was twelve years old, and started piano lessons at about the same time. The music of Cliff Richard and The Shadows inspired him to start learning the guitar...

.

Secrets that refuse to remain buried erupt as family members are brought togetgher, after years of segregation to face it all out in the bedroom - the place where all the confusion began. (Taken from the original promotion leaflet)

Characters

The 1950s

Louis Judah Ellis, A married man,

Bobbie Ellis, His wife,

Bella Holland, his mistress.

Present Day

Tony Ellis, Louis's eldest son,

Reggie Ellis, Louis's youngest son,

Shelia Ellis, Tony's wife,

Elizabeth Ellis, Reggie's wife.

Notable productions

Role	The Original Cast, Hampstead Theatre and Trafalgar Studios (January - June, 2005)	The UK Tour, March 2006	The Australian Premiere - Ensemble Theatre Ensemble Theatre The Ensemble Theatre is an Australian theatre company, situated in Kirribilli, New South Wales. It is promoted as Australia's longest continuously running professional theatre group, established in 1958.- References :... , June 2006.	Broadway Broadway theatre Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...  premiere Premiere A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...  - Biltmore Theatre Biltmore Theatre The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 261 West 47th Street in midtown-Manhattan.-History:...  - October - November 2006
Shelia	Alison Steadman Alison Steadman Alison Steadman OBE is an English actress. She established her career with roles such as Beverley in Abigail's Party and Candice Marie in Nuts in May for the director Mike Leigh, to whom she was once married. In addition to her stage and radio work, she has had lead roles in The Singing Detective,...	Alison Steadman Alison Steadman Alison Steadman OBE is an English actress. She established her career with roles such as Beverley in Abigail's Party and Candice Marie in Nuts in May for the director Mike Leigh, to whom she was once married. In addition to her stage and radio work, she has had lead roles in The Singing Detective,...	Amanda Muggleton Amanda Muggleton Amanda Lillian Muggleton is a British-born theatre, television and film actress. She is best known for her role on television soap opera Prisoner.-Early life:Muggleton was born in Stepney, London in 1951 and emigrated to Australia in 1974...	Michelle Pawk
Elizabeth	Lynda Bellingham Lynda Bellingham Lynda Bellingham is a Canadian-born English actress, broadcaster and author, who is known for her distinctive husky voice.-Early life:...	Rula Lenska Rula Lenska Rula Lenska is an English actress. Best known for her work in the United Kingdom, she is remembered in the United States for a television advert that presented her as a celebrity, even though she was not widely known in the US at the time the advert was produced.She has appeared extensively on...	Linden Wilkinson Linden Wilkinson Linden Wilkinson is an Australian film, television and theatre actress and writer. She is perhaps best known for her recurring role in soap opera Home and Away playing 'The Believers' cult leader Mumma Rose. Her other roles include appearances on Prisoner: Cell Block H, A Country Practice, Water...	Patricia Kalember Patricia Kalember Patricia Kathryn Kalember is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Georgiana "Georgie" Reed Whitsig on the NBC drama Sisters , Susannah Hart Shepherd on the popular 1980s television show Thirtysomething and as Judge Karen Taten on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit .- Life and...
Tony	David Horovich	David Horovich	George Spartels George Spartels George Spartels is an Australian actor of Greek descent, who is best known for his role on the television soap opera Neighbours, playing Benito Alessi. He was married to actress Elizabeth Alexander....	Mark Linn-Baker Mark Linn-Baker Mark Linn-Baker is an American actor and director famous for his role as Larry Appleton on the television sitcom Perfect Strangers.-Early life and career:...
Reggie	Brian Protheroe Brian Protheroe Brian Protheroe , of a Welsh father and English mother, is a musician and actor.-Career:Protheroe joined a local church choir when he was twelve years old, and started piano lessons at about the same time. The music of Cliff Richard and The Shadows inspired him to start learning the guitar...	David Cardy	Andrew McFarlane	Matthew Arkin Matthew Arkin Matthew Arkin is an American film and television actor. His brother is the actor Adam Arkin.Arkin was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jeremy Yaffe and actor Alan Arkin. He lives in Eastchester, New York with his wife and two children.-External links:...
Louis	Jason Durr Jason Durr Jason Durr is an English actor, best known for his portrayal of PC/DC MichaelMike Bradley in the British Series Heartbeat from 1997 to 2003....	Ben Porter	Christopher Tomkinson	Scott Cohen
Bobbie	Emma Cunniffe Emma Cunniffe Emma Cunniffe is a British film, stage and television actress.Her television credits include The Lakes , "Biddy" in a TV adaptation of Great Expectations, All the King's Men, Clash of the Santas, alongside Robson Green and Mark Benton, an ITV adaptation of Appointment with Death, Clocking Off ,...	Sue Appleby	Amanda Bishop Amanda Bishop Amanda Diana Bishop is an Australian actress, singer and comedian, known for her role as Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in the television comedies At Home with Julia and Double Take....	Rebecca Creskoff Rebecca Creskoff Rebecca Creskoff is an American actress.-Career:Creskoff graduated from the University of Pennsylvania before attending New York University where she received her Master of Fine Arts degree....
Bella	Anita Briem Anita Briem Anita Briem is an Icelandic actress. She is known for her role as Jane Seymour on The Tudors and her role as Hanna in Journey to the Center of the Earth.-Personal life:...	Hannah Watkins	Octavia Barron-Martin	Jama Williamson Jama Williamson Jama Williamson is an American actress. She was active in New York City theater throughout the early 2000s, during which she appeared in such shows as Avery Crozier's Eat the Runt, Hunt Holman's Spanish Girl, A. R. Gurney's Sylvia and Simon Mendes da Costa's Losing Louis...
Director	Robin Lefevre	Robin Lefevre	Andrew Doyle	Jerry Zaks Jerry Zaks Jerry Zaks is a German-born American stage and television director, and actor. He won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Drama Desk Award for directing The House of Blue Leaves, Lend Me A Tenor, and Six Degrees of Separation and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and Drama...

External links

• Trafalgar Studio's Promotion Website