Well 'ello again, govna! Owain Arthur will return to play the mischievous Francis Henshall in the long-running West End hit One Man, Two Guvnors at the Theatre Royal Haymarket beginning September 23, following his run in the international tour of the production.
Arthur will succeed comedian Rufus Hound, who joined the cast as the absent-minded oaf in February. Arthur previously played the role at the West End theater in 2012, taking over for Tony winner James Corden, and he was Corden's understudy when the production was at the Adelphi Theatre.
In addition to Arthur, the cast of One Man, Two Guvnors will include Angela Griffin as Dolly, Kellie Shirley and Peter Caulfield, reprising their roles as Pauline Clench and Alfie, having previously played them on tour, and Dominic Thorburn as Alan Dangle. Sam Alexander as Stanley Stubbers, David Benson as Gareth, Ian Burfield as Charlie Clench, Amy Cudden as Rachel Crabbe, Derek Elroy as Lloyd Boateng and Hugh Sachs as Harry Dangle will continue in their roles.
Directed by Nicholas Hytner, One Man, Two Guvnors, adapted by Richard Bean from the Italian classic Servant of Two Masters, is the story of Francis Henshall, who becomes minder to small-time hood Roscoe Crabbe. The gangster is actually Roscoe’s sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who’s been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers. Francis takes a second job with Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be reunited with Rachel. Francis must keep his two guvnors apart to prevent discovery.
One Man, Two Guvnors opened at the National Theatre in May 2011, and went on to a U.K. tour, before landing on the West End. Check out Broadway.com's interview with Arthur, where he talks about how he landed the plum role, why it's always fun to come back and what makes the show so successful!