Downton Abbey's Elizabeth McGovern joined by Boardwalk Empire star in AVA: THE SECRET CONVERSATIONS

Photo credit: Simon Annand

The cast and creative team have been announced for AVA: The Secret Conversations, the spellbinding new play from Elizabeth McGovern, running at Riverside Studios from 14 January-16 April 2022.

Taking to the stage with Academy Award-nominee McGovern (Downton Abbey, ITV),  who stars as Ava, is Anatol Yusef (Boardwalk Empire, HBO; Punisher, Netflix) as Peter Evans, the journalist Ava hired to write her autobiography when she lived in 1980s London.

Directed by  filmmaker Gaby Dellal, AVA is a captivating exploration into the fractured relationship between the public and private lives of  one of Hollywood’s greatest icons. 

Producer Karl Sydow said: “I’m thrilled to have cast Anatol Yusef alongside Elizabeth McGovern in this fantastic new play that explores so much about what the legendary Ava Gardner had to deal with throughout her illustrious career and tumultuous marriages.”

Part memory play, part sparring match, through this tense and witty play Ava and Peter debate,  fight and flirt their way through the memories of Ava’s fabulous life as they struggle to get the  story straight. Expect a rich sensory journey through Ava’s whisky-soaked recollections of her  life as an actor and with her three famous husbands – Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw and Ol’ Blue  Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. 

The production will feature design by 59 Productions who will bring their unique talents with projection design to the production, evoking the magical atmosphere of Hollywood’s heyday. It also features costumes by Fotini Dimou, with lighting by Elliot Griggs, and sound by Ella Wahlström.

For more information and to book tickets, please click here.