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Lily Cole leaps from the screen to stage in 24-hour whirlwind
By Louise Jury, Evening Standard Last updated at 09:17am on 08.10.09
Model Lily Cole is to make her stage debut hot on the heels of appearing in a film with the late Heath Ledger.
All-star: Lily Cole is juggling acting with modelling and studying at Cambridge
The 21-year-old joins an all-star line-up for the annual 24-Hour Plays Celebrity Gala at the Old Vic next month after walking the red carpet this week for the premiere of The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus.
Signed-up: Sharon Maughan, left, Ashley Walters and Anna Maxwell-Martin will perform in the Old Vic's 24-Hour Play Celebrity Gala
Graham Norton will compere the event in which actors, writers and directors join forces to create, rehearse and perform six plays in a day.
The cast joining Cole will include Jane Asher, Nigel Lindsay, Art Malik, Sharon Maughan, Anna Maxwell-Martin, Ruth Wilson and rapper turned actor Ashley Walters. Haydn Gwynne returns to the London stage for the first time since her Broadway run in Billy Elliot.
Douglas Hodge, the actor and director, will direct a play, as will Josie Rourke, artistic director of the Bush.
Cole, who is studying history of art at Cambridge, made her film debut in St Trinian's in 2007, but The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus is her biggest role yet. She plays Valentina, the daughter of Christopher Plummer's Dr Parnassus. Ledger, who died during filming last January, is the doctor's assistant.
The Old Vic has held 24-Hour Plays for the past five years, and it is an important fundraiser for the theatre.
Kevin Spacey, the theatre's artistic director, said: “The 24-Hour Plays always give audiences a rollercoaster ride of performances. It's an electrifying experience and I'm thrilled that so many great people have thrown their hats into the ring this year.”
Tickets for the performance on 1 November range from £75 to VIP packages at £250.
