Ruth Negga withdraws from Dublin Theatre Festival play at the Gaiety

Ruth Negga has stepped back from a play running at the Gaiety Theatre next month as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival.The Dublin Theatre Festival said Radio Bette will go ahead despite the actor’s withdrawal and that it will unveil a replacement cast member in the next seven to 10 days.Ticket holders for Radio Bette were informed on Friday, with festival organisers sharing a short statement from The Goat Exchange, the New York company behind the production.“The Goat Exchange regrets to announce that Ruth Negga will be stepping back from Radio Bette. We are deeply grateful to Ruth for the time, generosity, and extraordinary work she has brought to the project,” the statement said.READ MORERepresentatives of the actor have been contacted for comment.Radio Bette was created in collaboration with Negga, the Oscar-nominated Irish actor, who has also received Tony and Olivier award nominations for her past work on the stage. Her involvement was poised to make the play one of the highlights of this year’s Dublin Theatre Festival.The play, inspired by a rare rehearsal recording of a 1951 Bette Davis radio broadcast from the Lux Radio Theater, sees the cast channelling the voices and personas of stars including Davis, Marilyn Monroe, Anne Baxter and Thelma Ritter, with the production billed as both an homage to classic Hollywood and contemporary experimental theatre.It will run as scheduled at the Gaeity from September 23rd to 27th.