Canadian actor Michael Therriault, acclaimed for his role as the darkly amusing, deeply psychotic Gollum, is among the cast members being asked to join the stage production of The Lord of the Rings when it moves from Toronto to London.
Casting hasn't been finalized and full auditions won't start in London until the fall. But a casting announcement for some of the lead roles could come in September as the producers prepare to stage Rings at London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane, opening May 7.
When asked about Mr. Therriault continuing as Gollum, producer Kevin Wallace confirmed by phone from London that "you would be right to speculate that I would be having a conversation with him."
Mr. Therriault, who grew up in Oakville, Ont., recently won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for the physically demanding role as the ring-obsessed creature. Spitting lines on stage night after night since The Lord of the Rings began previews in Toronto in February, Mr. Therriault has been consistently praised as a showstopper.
As announced this week, the Toronto production will close Sept. 3. Although the $28-million show hasn't continuously attracted sell-out crowds in Toronto as hoped, another reason for the closing date is to allow enough time to transport the heavy, elaborate stage and sets to England to be reworked and fitted into the Drury Lane theatre.
The London production is expected to take on an even more British flavour. The cast will be mostly local actors, in large part because of British actors' union rules. However, many of the leads in the Toronto production have been played by British actors, including James Loye as hobbit hero Frodo. Mr. Wallace said discussions with some of the Canadian cast will start this summer and a few actors and stunt people could remain with the production.
A similar situation will occur in Germany, with a predominantly German cast playing most of the parts, when a third production of Rings is staged in that country beginning in 2008. The actual city has yet to be announced, Mr. Wallace said, because the arrival of Rings in Germany will mark the departure of another production, and those involved don't want to make that publicly known yet.