Sir Ian Rankin’s much-loved detective, Rebus makes his Oxford Playhouse debut in a brand-new stage production of Rebus: A Game Called Malice.
Following the success of the critically acclaimed BBC television series, the police officer takes to the Oxford Playhouse stage from Tuesday, October 29 to Saturday, November 2.
Based on the best-selling book series Rebus, the play centres around a murder mystery game, but with rising suspicions between the guests.
Written by Ian Rankin and Simon Reade, Gray O’Brien will star in the title role John Rebus with Abigail Thaw (Stephanie Jeffries) and Billy Hartman (Jack Fleming).
The three actors head the cast of this murder mystery, set in an Edinburgh mansion. With secrets of their own, the guests are threatened by the very game they are playing created by their hostess. Among them is the detective himself, who must navigate suspects, clues and danger at every twist and a turn before a shocking discovery sends this game called ‘Malice’ hurtling towards a gasp-inducing conclusion…
Gray O’Brien, is probably best known for his roles in Coronation Street as Tony Gordon, Peak Practice as Dr Tom Deneley and Casualty as Richard McCaid. His theatre credits include Educating Rita, Catch Me If You Can, The Case of the Frightened Lady, The Sound of Music, Dead Simple, Sleuth and The Magistrate.
Abigail Thaw is perhaps most recognisable for her role as Dorothea Frazil in the Oxford-based Endeavour. She also appeared in Miss Scarlet and the Duke, Sister Boniface and The Nevers; and films The Penny Dropped and The Inbetweeners 2. Her theatre credits include Anthropology, The Strange Death of John Doe, Julius Caesar, The Cutting of the Cloth, Juliet and her Romeo, and Cymbeline .
Billy Hartman returns to the role of Jack Fleming, having created it for the stage in 2023. His other theatre credits include Gypsy, The Confessions of Gordon Brown, The Little Match Girl, Homework and Oliver! Television credits include Emmerdale (as series regular Terry Woods), Dal Y Mellt, The Trick, Keeping Faith, Pobol Y Cwm, In Suspicious Circumstances, 99-1 and A Touch of Frost.
Ian Rankin is the multimillion-copy award-winning bestseller of over thirty novels worldwide and creator of John Rebus. His books have been translated into thirty-six languages and have been adapted for radio, the stage and the screen. His Rebus novels have dominated the detective fiction market with the latest television series ensuring the detective’s legendary status.
Tickets for Rebus: A Game Called Malice at Oxford Playhouse start from £14 and are available at the Box Office on 01865 305305 or to book online at www.oxfordplayhouse.com
