Full casting has been announced for Kenneth Branagh‘s production of King Lear in which he directs and plays the title role.
Joining Branagh on stage will be Mara Allen (Macbeth, The Night Watch) as Curan, Deborah Alli (Best of Enemies, School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play) as Goneril, Raymond Anum (The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew) as Burgundy, Melanie-Joyce Bermudez (making her professional debut) as Regan, Doug Colling (Dear Evan Hansen, This England) as Edgar, Dylan Corbett-Bader (The Tattooist of Auschwitz, We Were The Lucky Ones) as France, Eleanor de Rohan (Hamlet, Anatomy of A Scandal) as Kent, Chloe Fenwick-Brown (making her professional debut) as Oswald, Joseph Kloska (The Winter’s Tale, Richard III) as Gloucester, Corey Mylchreest (Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, The Sandman) as Edmund, Hughie O’Donnell (Into The Woods) as Cornwall, Caleb Obediah (Bridgerton, The Living Newspaper) as Cornwall, Jessica Revell (Tracy Beaker Returns, The Dumping Ground) as Cordelia / The Fool.
Branagh’s highly anticipated revival of Shakespeare’s King Lear runs at the Wyndham’s Theatre from 21 October 2023 until 9 Decemeber 2023. It is then scheduled to transfer to The Shed’s Griffin Theater in New York City for the autumn of 2024.
The creative team includes Jon Bausor (set and costume designer), Lucy Skilbeck (associate director), Nina Dunn (projection designer), Paul Keogan (lighting designer), Ben and Max Ringham (sound designers and composers), Aletta Collins (choreographer), Lucy Bevan CDG and Emily Brockmann (casting directors), Bret Yount (fight director), Issy Snape and Michael Rouse (assistant directors) and Jim Leaver (production manager).
King Lear is presented in association with RADA and its principal, Niamh Dowling, commented: “King Lear is an exceptional opportunity for RADA graduates, many of whom graduated very recently, to take part in a production of one of Shakespeare’s most impactful plays. We are really thrilled for this cast, which includes a number of graduates making their West End debuts.”
The production is produced by West End producers Fiery Angel, The Shed, and the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company.
The Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company was formed in 2013, and presented seven plays at the Garrick Season from October 2015, including Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, Red Velvet by Lolita Chakrabarti, and The Entertainer by John Osborne.
More about King Lear tickets at the Wyndham’s Theatre in London
