Stage, film and TV star Joseph Marcell heads the cast of a new production of Richard B. Sheridan’s comedy of manners, The School for Scandal, which comes to Oxford Playhouse on Tuesday 4 and plays until Saturday 8 June.

Marcell, who is probably best-known for his role as Geoffrey the Butler in the six seasons of the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, plays Sir Peter Teazle in this fresh take on Richard B. Sheridan’s classic comedy of manners.

Joseph Marcell was most recently seen in Chiwetel Ejiofor’s debut feature film, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind. TV credits include Mammoth and I Hate You (BBC), and he is soon to star in Candice Carty-William’s Queenie (Channel 4). His prolific stage credits include Hamlet at the Young Vic with Cush Jumbo, Kathy Burke’s Lady Windermere's Fan, extensive work with Shakespeare’s Globe including the titular role in Bill Buckhurst’s King Lear and Derek Walcott’s Omeros, as well as seasons at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Sir Peter Teazle believes his young wife is sleeping with someone else. She isn’t.

But she’s starting to think if her husband believes it, she may as well give it a go. After all, if you’re going to cause a scandal, you might as well enjoy it…

Deliciously naughty and outrageously silly, this timeless comedy is a masterclass in social satire and the art of gossip.

The School for Scandal is one of the greatest comedies ever written, featuring an unforgettable cast of larger-than-life characters, each armed with a lacerating wit.

Join us for a lightning-paced evening of romance, revenge and rollicking fun that promises to leave you entertained, enamoured – and perhaps even a little scandalised.

The cast also features Garmon Rhys as ‘Charles Surface’, Ayesha Griffiths as ‘Maria’, Emily-Jane McNeill as ‘Lady Sneerwell’, Alex Phelps as ‘Joseph Surface’, Lydea Perkins as ‘Lady Teazle’, Tony Timberlake as ‘Sir Oliver’, and Guy Dennys as ‘Rowley’.

Returning to Oxford, Emily-Jane McNeill participated in The North Wall’s ArtsLab Comedy Troll residency in 2017. Creating and performing comedy sketches and ensemble pieces as part of the Arts Centre’s artist development scheme.

The production is directed by Seán Aydon who recently adapted and directed the national tours of The Picture of Dorian Gray and Frankenstein. He was also assistant director on the world premiere of Tom Fletcher’s The Christmasaurus at the Hammersmith Apollo.

The production is designed by Linbury Prize winner Sarah Beaton who returns to Oxford Playhouse after designing for Clare Baybutt’s The Man I Live With in 2017, co-produced by The Playhouse and Reading Rep. Her recent credits include The Merchant Of Venice (Sam Wanamaker / The Globe), Nineteen Gardens (Hampstead Theatre) and Wild East (Young Vic). She previously worked with Tilted Wig as designer of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

There is sound design/composition from Pembroke College, Oxford alumnus Ed Lewis. His recent work includes TheBox Of Delights (RSC), Killer Joe (West End) and Henry V (Donmar).

Lighting design for the production is by Peter Small whose work includes Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder! (Bristol Old Vic), King Stakh’s Wild Hunt (Barbican) and The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas (Dailes Theatre, Riga); and movement direction from Stephen Moynihan whose credits include Ted Lasso, House Of The Dragon and Tilted Wig’s Frankenstein.

The School for Scandal is produced by Tilted Wig Productions and Malvern Theatres in Association with Theatre By The Lake.