Tom Hughes made a name for himself in BBC spy thriller The Game, but the actor has the beautiful game to thank for his latest West End role after meeting its writer on the football pitch.
The Rada graduate, 29, plays a young man on death row in Ticking, the theatrical debut of critically acclaimed filmmaker Paul Andrew Williams.
Hughes said: “I knew Paul a bit. I play football with him and he mentioned he had a play and asked me to do a read for him.”
Williams, who made waves with his debut feature film London To Brighton, has pulled together a cast that includes Niamh Cusack and Anthony Head as Hughes’ character’s parents.
The play, opening at Trafalgar Studios next month, is set in a Chinese prison cell where Hughes’ character Simon is hours away from execution after being convicted of the murder of a local prostitute.
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Hughes said: “I wanted to do a new piece of writing set in the modern day.
“I’ve only done two plays since I left drama school; Sweet Nothings at the Young Vic which was an adaptation of a play from turn-of-the-century Vienna, and Versailles at the Donmar Warehouse which was set at the end of World War One, so I wanted something contemporary.”
Hughes will appear alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers who plays The Clash frontman Joe Strummer in upcoming film London Town, set in the capital at the height of the punk explosion.
He said: “It’s about a young boy who is at a crossroads in his life. His mum has gone to London to make her fortune and I play her boyfriend.
“He is a huge fan of The Clash and finds strength in their music, and then through a series of accidents he meets his hero.”
Ticking is at Trafalgar Studios from October 6 to November 7
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