Top comic joins Shakespeare cast

Seann Walsh joins a star-studded cast.

The Gatehouse Theatre and Stafford Shakespeare have announced that comic, Seann Walsh has joined the cast of this summer’s Stafford Shakespeare production, Twelfth Night: A Cornish Tale.

Seann will take on the role of Malvolio in the production, which runs from 21st June to the 7th July.

Described as ‘the best observational comedian of his generation’ (The Guardian), this Edinburgh Award nominee has been touring Back From The Bed throughout 2023 and 2024. His previous tour show After This One, I’m Going Home ended with standing ovations around the country.

Seann has appeared on Live At The Apollo, Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel, 8 Out of 10 Cats, The Last Leg, The Stand Up Sketch Show, Alan Davies’: As Yet Untitled, World’s Most Dangerous Roads, Battle In The Box and Series 22 of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, where he placed fifth.

 Seann can also be heard on his regular podcasts What’s Upset You Now, alongside co-host Paul McCaffrey and Oh My Dog with Jack Dee, where they interview a special guest all about their relationships with their beloved dogs.

You can catch Seann’s stand-up special Kiss on his YouTube channel. Recorded live at the Bill Murray pub, Seann recounts living through the centre of a media storm in his distinctively shambolic, intense and energetic trademark style.

Seann’s acting credits include The Lovebox In Your Living Room, Clown, and The Bystanders which won him the award for Best Actor in a feature film at the 2023 Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival.

This will be Seann's Shakespearean debut and he said:

"It is my extreme pleasure to be joining this wonderful cast and playing this legendary comic character in arguably Shakespeare’s funniest play."

Twelfth Night: A Cornish Tale producer Mike Groves said:

"I’m ecstatic about how this cast is coming together and developing our project. Seann is a real talent for us which will continue our work at showing how relatable and easy to understand Shakespeare really is."

Director Sean Turner added:

"Seann’s singular comic talents are perfectly suited to this role. I can’t wait to see what fun we can dream up together with this most crowd-pleasing of characters."

Gatehouse Theatre general manager Gary Stevens said:

"We are absolutely thrilled to have Seann join us in Stafford this summer.

He’s a perfect fit for the role of Malvolio and I can’t wait to see his natural humour mixed in with Shakespeare’s comedy writing. There’s going to be laughs galore, that’s for sure."

Ticket sales for the production are outstripping last year's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Twelfth Night: A Cornish Tale will be the 32^nd Stafford Shakespeare production, with the first being Henry V at Stafford Castle in 1991.

Last year, the event was moved to the Gatehouse Theatre where it achieved a record audience for a drama at the venue, with more than 5,000 people attending.

Tickets for this year’s production are available now, starting from just £23.00. Larger groups and school visits will receive a discount. Call the Box Office on 01785 619080 for details or visit the The Gatehouse theatre website to book.