Tom Hanson is currently starring as Simon Pennington in the world premiere of Andrew Keatley’s play The Gathered Leaves at the Park Theatre.
Set over the over Easter weekend in 1997, The Gathered Leaves is described as a “moving, poignant and funny family drama”. The play is about the Pennington family who haven’t been in the same room for over 17 years. Three generations come together to celebrate an elderly family member’s birthday…
Tom is the son of Samantha Bond and Alex Hanson, the latter of whom is also starring in the production as Simon’s father, Giles. The cast of Antony Eden’s production also includes Jane Asher and her real-life daughter, Katie Scarfe. Tom recently made his professional debut as Hugo in Posh (Nottingham Playhouse/Salisbury Playhouse).
I recently spoke to Tom about what makes The Gathered Leaves such an interesting play, why he’s excited to be working alongside such a stellar cast and whether he always wanted to follow in his parents’ footsteps…
To work alongside your father is a very unique opportunity! What drew you to the project?
To be honest it was the play, it’s so well written. To have the opportunity to work with a parent, or any actor of that calibre – this cast is full of them – is fantastic. This is going to sound arrogant, but I don’t mean this in an arrogant way at all; I read the whole thing and I just felt like the writer sort of knew me. Simon, the role I play, can just be a belligerent arse… and I think I probably can as well… well not a belligerent arse, but his sense of humour is so similar to mine and I was just like, ‘I have to do this’. I went and auditioned and luckily got it. I thought it was a brilliant piece!
