Two real-life families will star in Park Theatre's latest world premiere production The Gathered Leaves.

Jane Asher and daughter Katie Scarfe will appear on stage together for the first time in The Gathered Leaves, which also features Alexander Hanson and his son Tom Hanson.

"The entire cast is starting to feel like a family, which is lovely, " says West Londoner Katie in a break from rehearsals at the Finsbury Park venue.

The play written by Andrew Keatley and directed by Antony Eden is set in 1997 when the Pennington family come together for the first time in 17 years on the eve of the 75th birthday of patriarch William, played by Clive Francis.

Jane Asher stars as his wife Olivia, with Katie playing her daughter Alice and Nick Sampson and Alexander Hanson playing her sons Samuel and Giles.

Jane says: "I've wanted to work with Katie for many years, so when I heard she had been cast as my stage daughter in the play the whole project became even more special."

They've kept tight-lipped about who signed up for the production first but Katie says of her reason for joining the project: "It's a great ensemble piece and so beautifully written. Plus it was the chance to play a wonderful strong female character with a great story."

She adds: "She's very strong, very direct and opinionated and unashamedly her own person, but she's also generous and compassionate. She got pregnant when she was very young and had to cope on her own. She's been a good mother to her daughter."

The play, which also stars Georgina Beedle, Amber James, Anna Wilson-Jones, Hamish Brewster and Olivia Buckner, sees the three generations of Penningtons aim to put the past behind them but come up against secrets and revelations.

"They're all really interesting scenes to play, " says Katie, "and the great thing is finding something new in them every time we play them. I think they've got richer and more satisfying as our sense of the family relationships has grown during rehearsals."

Talking about whether working with a real-life parent makes it harder or easier Katie says: "I think a bit of both. You get a lot of the on-stage relationship for free, there's that familiarity there from the start.

"But you also have to work harder to impose a different character on them because you know them so well."

Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, July 15 to August 15. Details: 020 7870 6876, parktheatre.co.uk