His West End debut

Here is Stephen Merchant rehearsing for his West End debut.

The Office co-creator is pictured alongside co-star Steffan Rhodri in these candid shots as they prepare to take to the stage in The Mentalists from July 3.

The comedy, which plays at the Wyndhams Theatre, has been written by Richard Bean, creator of One Man, Two Guvnors, and directed by Abbey Wright.

Merchant plays Ted, who has a master plan to revolutionise the world – and aims to spread the world with help from his best friend Morrie (Rhodri) and his video camera, But Morrie begins to suspect that Ted's in trouble as unpaid bills and cryptic phone calls start to mount up…

Photographer Helen Maybanks captured these images in the rehearsal studio.

Published: 24 Jun 2015