It's only been a few weeks since the fifth season of All Creatures Great and Small came to an end on Channel 5 and Callum Woodhouse is already busy working on his next project.
The actor, who plays Tristan Farnon in the popular period drama, is set to star in an upcoming theatre production of The Devil May Care at Southwark Playhouse, a modern adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's 1897 play, The Devil's Disciple.
Billed as a "timely exploration of Western power", the show is set during the Philippine-American War and tells a compelling tale of mistaken identity and sacrifice.
The synopsis reads: "It's 1899, and the United States is growing in power – fighting a war against the Philippine Islands to prevent their independence. Judith, the wife of a disgraced English minister wanted for treason, witnesses the arrest of disreputable American trader and 'disciple of the devil' Richard Conroe. The American army is convinced he is her husband – but when Judith tries to reveal their mistake, Richard denies her claims and refuses to save himself from execution.
"Why would an innocent man insist on sacrificing himself for a stranger?"
Callum leads the cast alongside Beth Burrows, Richard Lynson, Jill Greenacre, Enzo Benvenuti and Izyan Hay.
Director Mark Giesser said: "Both in Shaw's play and in my adaptation, the two principal characters of Richard, the 'Devil's disciple', and Judith, the minister's wife, are faced with the question of sacrifice.
© Shutterstock"For Richard, it's discovering if he's capable of forfeiting his life to demonstrate a personal honour with which he isn't credited and may not care about. For Judith, it's discovering whether she has the capacity to allow an innocent man to die in place of her husband. Both Callum Woodhouse and Beth Burrows are actors of depth and sensitivity who can wrestle with these questions while also expressing the nuances of Shavian irony in the story."
The show will run from 8 January to 1 February 2025 at Southwark Playhouse.
Callum's latest project comes as All Creatures fans prepare to return to Darrowby for the upcoming Christmas special, which sees Skeldale House prepare for Christmas – and baby Jimmy's first birthday.
© Helen Williams / Playground Television / Channel 5Meanwhile, Mrs Hall's world is turned upside down by a worrying news bulletin regarding her son Edward and a young boy arrives at the surgery with an abandoned fox cub.
Elsewhere, Tristan is given an important Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC) mission involving pigeons and Helen and James prepare for Jimmy's birthday tea at Heston Grange.
© Helen Williams / Channel 5 / PlaygroundSharing his thoughts on the message of this year's festive instalment, Callum said: "It's not necessarily about what's under the tree or what you've got on the table, it's about who's sat around the table there and we've got everyone back together. And everyone's just happy to be sat there with each other, with the baby, feeling good and enjoying their time at Christmas together with their nearest and dearest, and the people that they love."
The All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special airs on Monday 23 December at 9pm.
