Help The Hungry: David Morrissey set to star in Zoom play to raise money for the vulnerable

Jenna Coleman and Denise Gough will join the former ‘Walking Dead’ star in ‘A Separate Peace’

David Morrissey (pictured) will star in Sir Tom Stoppard's 'A Separate Peace' (Dave Benett)

A cast of top actors including David Morrissey will perform a classic play by Sir Tom Stoppard over video conference to raise money for our Help The Hungry appeal partner.

Actors David Morrissey, Jenna Coleman and Denise Gough will star in a reading of A Separate Peace (1969) tomorrow evening over cloud-conferencing service Zoom. The performance has a full production team working behind the scenes and is directed by the award-winner Sam Yates.

Money raised from ticket sales will be given to The Felix Project, The Independent’s campaign partner, and to support out-of-work professionals in the theatre industry including a costume designer and a stage manager.

Sir Tom’s play, a comedy set in a private nursing home, follows a seemingly healthy man who attempts to shut himself off from the world. It is the first of the Remote Reads produced by artistic non-profit organisations Platform Presents and Apples and Oranges Arts.

Morrissey said: “I’m very excited to be taking part in this live reading. It’s a beautifully written piece by Tom Stoppard and I’m looking forward to performing it.”

The former Walking Dead villain, who has been volunteering for The Felix Project for about 18 months, praised the charity for “working tirelessly at this very challenging time”.

A depot coordinator for The Felix Project commended Morrissey for being “a brilliant ambassador” for the charity.

“From his first shift, he was grabbing crates, diving in, just going above and beyond.” The Independent launched the Help The Hungry campaign to support the work of The Felix Project in redistributing food to frontline charities, vulnerable individuals and NHS staff during the coronavirus crisis.

Sir Tom said: “It’s a delightful surprise to find that a play that I haven’t really thought about for over half a century is getting a new production, especially with such a stunning cast. It’s about the last thing I expected and I’m quite excited about it.

“The play was actually written as one half of a 60-minute slot, the other half of which was a documentary about chess players. The idea was that the film and the play would somehow complement each other. The idea was that the man in the play and the chess players were finding some kind of sanctuary in a closed world.”

Director Yates explained that the actors were sent sound and lighting equipment to their houses, and will mark scene changes by covering the camera with paper.

On the idea of theatre over Zoom, Sir Tom said: “I’m fascinated by the format, which is a completely new kind of way of putting on a play where paradoxically you stay home and live theatre comes to you.”

A Separate Peace directed by Sam Yates will run on Saturday at 7pm. Tickets can be bought here.

The Independent is encouraging readers to help groups that are trying to feed the hungry during the crisis — find out how you can help here. Follow this link to donate to our campaign in London, in partnership with the Evening Standard.