Two Halves of Guinness
By Mark Burgess, Directed by Selina Cadell
Sir Alec Guinness’ commanding performance as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars secured his fame for future generations.
Yet after a distinguished career as one of Britain’s greatest actors, the double-Oscar-winning star of over 70 films feared he would only be remembered as a Jedi Knight.
Two Halves of Guinness reveals a mysterious life story worthy of the darkest Ealing Comedies, revisiting his most memorable characters and encountering a galaxy of stars along the way.
Zeb Soanes (Classic FM, BBC Radio 4) stars as Alec Guinness in a play written by Mark Burgess and directed by Selina Cadell (Eddie Izzard’s Great Expectations, Hamlet; Miles Jupp in The Life I Lead).
This production of Two Halves of Guinness marks the 25th anniversary of Sir Alec Guinness’ death.
Julian Bird for Green Room Ents in association with Park Theatre.
-
Evenings
19.30
Thu & Sat15.00
-
Duration
Approx 2 hours inc interval
-
Tickets
£22.50 - £49.50
-
Genre
Drama
-
Age guidance
10+
Cast & Creatives
-
Zeb Soanes
Alec Guinness
Zeb Soanes
Alec Guinness
Over a 25-year career at the BBC, Zeb Soanes was an authoritative newsreader and the reassuring voice of the Shipping forecast on BBC Radio 4 and presented the BBC Proms. He is now the host of Relaxing Evenings on Classic FM.
Radio drama includes: Beautiful Dreamers, The Symphony for all Creation (BBC Radio 4); Dead Girls Tell No Tales (BBC Radio 4); All Mouth and Trousers (BBC Radio 4); Dr Who: The Library in the Body (Big Finish)
As an author he created the best-selling Gaspard the Fox series of children’s books, illustrated by James Mayhew and adapted as narrated orchestral works with music by Jonathan Dove CBE.
Concert work includes: BBC Concert Orchestra; Britten Sinfonia; Hallé Orchestra; Orchestra of the Swan; Philharmonia Orchestra; Royal Liverpool Philharmonic; Royal Northern Sinfonia; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Septura; St Martin-in-the-Fields; The King’s Singers; Ulster Orchestra and Voces8.
-
Mark Burgess
Writer
Mark Burgess
Writer
Mark was born in Kingston upon Thames and trained at the Guildford
School of Acting (GSA). He is a writer and actor, with a career spanning
theatre, radio, television, and film.As a writer, Mark has written thirteen stage plays and ten plays for
BBC Radio 4. His first play, Casting Shadows, premiered at Brighton
Fringe and the Old Red Lion in London, before being adapted by Mark
for Radio 4 and starring Roy Hudd as Max Miller. His most recent broadcast
play, An Inspector Calls on Moscow, featured Rory Kinnear as J. B. Priestley,
with a further Radio 4 commission scheduled for broadcast in 2026.
His radio work has featured an impressive range of actors including
Andrew Scott, David Suchet, Eleanor Bron, Kenneth Cranham, Alex
Jennings, Lucy Fleming, Simon Williams, and John Sessions. He has
also written short stories and abridgements for Radio 4.Mark’s stage work includes Somewhere in England (The Quarry Theatre,
Bedford), A Part of Life, The Only Way, and With Wings As Eagles for
Bedford Modern School, and The Bedford Wives, commissioned by Bedford
Sixth Form College. His play Soldier/Sailor, based on a meeting between
Sir Alec Guinness and former MI6 head Sir Maurice Oldfield, has received
staged readings in Brighton. His solo plays include Two Halves of Guinness,
originally produced in Brighton in 2010, The Man With the Golden Pen
(about Ian Fleming), and Larry (about Laurence Olivier). His latest stage
play, As Clouds Go By, is scheduled for production in 2026.As an actor, Mark made his West End debut in Another Country, played
Gordon Collins in Channel 4’s Brookside for four years, and has appeared
in numerous national tours, film, and radio productions. -
Selina Cadell
Director
Selina Cadell
Director
Selina Cadell is an accomplished and highly experienced actor and director
with an extensive career across theatre, film, and television. As an actor,
her many screen credits include Doc Martin, Midsomer Murders,
and Poirot, among numerous others.Alongside her acting work, Selina has enjoyed a long and distinguished
career as a director. Her theatre directing credits include The Rivals;
The Diary of One Who Disappeared (Arcola Theatre); Love for Love (Royal
Shakespeare Company); The Importance of Being Earnest (Nottingham
Playhouse); Candida (Theatre Royal Plymouth); The Rake’s Progress
(Wilton’s Music Hall); The Life I Lead (Wyndham’s Theatre); and Great
Expectations (Garrick Theatre). Internationally, she has directed Hamlet
in New York and Chicago, Much Ado About Nothing for Chicago
Shakespeare Theater, and As You Like It in Ireland.Selina is also the co-founder of OperaGlass Works, a production company
she runs with Eliza Thompson. Together, they have produced and directed
two films: The Turn of the Screw and La Traviata, continuing their commitment
to bringing classical works to new audiences across stage and screen. -
Lee Newby
Set & Costume Designer
Lee Newby
Set & Costume Designer
Recent and notable credits include I’m Sorry, Prime Minister (Apollo
Theatre and UK Tour), Barnum (Watermill Theatre and UK Tour), Starter
for Ten (Bristol Old Vic), The Last Laugh (Noël Coward Theatre and UK
Tour), The Enfield Haunting (Ambassadors Theatre), The Last Five Years
(Garrick Theatre), The Life I Lead (Wyndham’s Theatre), Labour of Love
(Noël Coward Theatre).His extensive work at Park Theatre includes SUS, Mother of Him,
Whodunnit [Unrehearsed] and Gently Down the Stream.Other credits include Romeo and Juliet and Richard III (Shakespeare’s
Rose Theatre, York), The Importance of Being Earnest (Theatr Clwyd), The
View Upstairs (Soho Theatre), Floyd Collins (Wilton’s Music Hall), Mythic
(Charing Cross Theatre), The White Chip, Dogfight, Grand Hotel
(Southwark Playhouse), Hamlet and The Cherry Orchard (Theatre Royal
Windsor), Floyd Collins and Musik (Wilton’s Music Hall). -
Didi Hopkins
Movement
Didi Hopkins
Movement
Didi Hopkins is a leading British movement director and the UK’s foremost
practitioner of Commedia dell’Arte. She works extensively with the
National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and was Commedia
consultant on One Man, Two Guvnors in the West End and on Broadway.
Recent credits include Movement Director for Eddie Izzard’s solo
productions of Great Expectations and Hamlet, and collaborations with
Selina Cadell on Restoration plays and with OperaGlassWorks on major
operas. She co-directed the West End transfer of The Life I Lead. Didi
teaches at RADA, Central, E15 and Mountview, and founded Beryl and the
Perils and CommediaWorks -
Michael Fox
Lighting Designer
Michael Fox
Lighting Designer
Michael is an accomplished lighting designer and programmer, with work
spanning a wide range of genres. His portfolio of technically challenging
projects enables him to seamlessly merge technology with design.His design and associate work includes: Legoland 4D Theatre (Windsor);
Luminescenes (Manchester); Mariupol Drama (Manchester); Terhal
by Dragone [Associate] (Riyadh); Spirited Away [Associate] (London);
and An Inspector Calls [Assistant] (UK Tour)His programming work includes: Rock and Roll Man (UK Tour);
The Lightning Thief (UK Tour); Intimate Apparel (Donmar, London);
Sonic the Hedgehog 3; Bridge Command Immersive Experience (Vauxhall);
and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Forest Immersive Experience (Global). -
Eliza Thompson
Sound
Eliza Thompson
Sound
Eliza Thompson is a composer, director and music consultant working
in various aspects of film, TV and theatre. Music Supervisor film credits
include: The Madness of King George, The Crucible, Dangerous Liaisons,
Shadowlands. Music Consultant film credits include: Othello, The Importance
of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband, St Trinian’s 1 and 2. As composer,
Eliza has written music for TV and radio and for theatre productions,
many of which were directed by Selina Cadell including Love for Love
(RSC), The Double Dealer (Orange Tree), Miles Jupp’s The Life I Lead
(Wyndham’s), Eddie Izzard’s Hamlet and Great Expectations (New York
and London), and Much Ado About Nothing (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre).Eliza, with Selina, is the co-founder of the production company
OperaGlass Works. They co-direct and produce chamber opera, including
Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress and the film of Britten’s opera The Turn
of the Screw which won the Critics’ Circle Award for Best Opera Film 2022.
Most recently, OperaGlass Works have made a film of La Traviata. This
is Verdi’s opera re-imagined as a chamber work, currently showing in arts
cinemas around the country, starring Roderick Williams, Susana Gaspar
and Thomas Elwin. -
Julian Bird for Green Room Ents
Producer
Julian Bird for Green Room Ents
Producer
Julian is the Chief Executive of global production company Green Room
Ents Ltd which he co-owns with theatre owner and impresario Nica Burns.
Until late Spring 2022, Julian was Chief Executive of the Society of London
Theatre and UK Theatre and was the Executive Producer for The Olivier
Awards and UK Theatre Awards. Prior to his time at SOLT, Julian was the
Chief Operating Officer at the Tate.Green Room Ents produces and manages major events around the world,
works on various shows and projects for Cunard (including curating the
bi-annual London Theatre At Sea transatlantic crossing) and has a number
of shows in production and development, including the play Two Halves of
Guinness, the musical Rock & Roll Man, and a revitalised Music Hall show
Don’t Dilly Dally.Julian is actively involved in arts charities including acting as the Chair of
the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea; and sits on a variety of advisory
panels.He was awarded an OBE in the King’s New Year Honours in January 2023.
-
Jordan Harris
Production Manager
Jordan Harris
Production Manager
Jordan is a Freelance Production Manager working across theatre and
events, he is also Head of Production for National Youth Music Theatre
(NYMT). He trained at Guildford School of Acting in technical theatre
and has enjoyed a varied career since graduating in 2020. He has worked
in various producing venues including as Technical Manager at the
National Theatre and Head of Production at Reading Rep Theatre.
Jordan has recently worked on productions such as The Left Behinds
at the National Theatre, If/Then at the Savoy Theatre, 3 Hens in a Boat
at Reading Rep and the Watermill Theatre, Assassins and NINE at the Royal
Academy of Music, and A Christmas Carol at Reading Rep Theatre. -
Graham Hookham
Production Stage Manager
Graham Hookham
Production Stage Manager
As Director of Run Of Show Ltd, Graham provides Production Stage
Management and Show Calling services to the Live Events and Theatrical
industries internationally, building on over 20 years of experience working
in Australia, USA, Europe, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as the UK.
Since graduating from a Technical Theatre course at Guildford School
of Acting in 2004 Graham has enjoyed a wide-ranging career in stage
management, and alongside the theatre industry, Graham has worked
internationally on a variety of live events, awards shows and corporate
conferences.London’s West End theatre credits include: Mary Poppins, Sound Of Music,
Oliver!, Wicked, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, Rock Of Ages, Beautiful,
Dreamgirls, Waitress, Back To The Future The Musical, Moulin Rouge!
The Musical, and most recently 50 First Dates The Musical. -
Maddy Edis
Costume Supervisor
Select a date
Displaying 16 performances for Two Halves of Guinness
-
Mon 20 Apr 2026
7.30pm
- £22.50
- £29.50
- £32.50
- £37.50
- £45
Loading...Priority booking Priority booking Book now Last fewSold out -
Tue 21 Apr 2026
7.30pm
- £25
- £32.50
- £36
- £39.50
- £47.50
Loading...Priority booking Priority booking Book now Last fewSold out -
Wed 22 Apr 2026
7pm
Loading...Priority booking Priority booking Book now Last fewSold out -
Thu 23 Apr 2026
3pm
- £22.50
- £29.50
- £32.50
- £37.50
- £45
Loading...Priority booking Priority booking Book now Last fewSold out -
Thu 23 Apr 2026
7.30pm
- £25
- £32.50
- £36
- £39.50
- £47.50
Loading...Priority booking Priority booking Book now Last fewSold out -
Fri 24 Apr 2026
7.30pm
- £25
- £34.50
- £39.50
- £42.50
- £49.50
Loading...Priority booking Priority booking Book now Last fewSold out -
Sat 25 Apr 2026
3pm
- £25
- £34.50
- £39.50
- £42.50
- £49.50
Loading...Priority booking Priority booking Book now Last fewSold out -
Sat 25 Apr 2026
7.30pm
- £25
- £34.50
- £39.50
- £42.50
- £49.50
Loading...Priority booking Priority booking Book now Last fewSold out -
Tue 28 Apr 2026
3pm
- £22.50
- £29.50
- £32.50
- £37.50
- £45
Loading...Priority booking Priority booking Book now Last fewSold out -
Tue 28 Apr 2026
7.30pm
- £25
- £32.50
- £36
- £39.50
- £47.50
Loading...Priority booking Priority booking Book now Last fewSold out -
Wed 29 Apr 2026
7.30pm
- £25
- £32.50
- £36
- £39.50
- £47.50
Loading...Priority booking Priority booking Book now Last fewSold out -
Thu 30 Apr 2026
3pm
- £22.50
- £29.50
- £32.50
- £37.50
- £45
Loading...Priority booking Priority booking Book now Last fewSold out -
Thu 30 Apr 2026
7.30pm
- £25
- £32.50
- £36
- £39.50
- £47.50
Loading...Priority booking Priority booking Book now Last fewSold out -
Fri 01 May 2026
7.30pm
- £25
- £34.50
- £39.50
- £42.50
- £49.50
Loading...Priority booking Priority booking Book now Last fewSold out -
Sat 02 May 2026
3pm
- £25
- £34.50
- £39.50
- £42.50
- £49.50
Loading...Priority booking Priority booking Book now Last fewSold out -
Sat 02 May 2026
7.30pm
- £25
- £34.50
- £39.50
- £42.50
- £49.50
Loading...Priority booking Priority booking Book now Last fewSold out
Psst! Did you know we keep the price of our tickets lower than they actually cost?
Support our mission to make theatre affordable to all, by opting to cover the full cost of your seat.
Find out moreArtwork by David McMullan.
Love Park Theatre?
Sign up to hear about events, news and offers.
Mailing List
w
We will use your data to keep you up-to-date with news, events and offers. For more information, please see our Privacy Statement.