Nicholas Pinnock is to star as Jay ‘The Sport’ Jackson in The Royale at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill.
Currently starring in the hit ITV series Marcella, Pinnock will reprise his role as Jay Jackson, the first African-American heavyweight champion of the world, in the Bush Theatre’s revival of its critically acclaimed play, The Royale.
Written by award-winning American writer Marco Ramirez (Sons of Anarchy, Orange is the New Black), The Royale is inspired by the story of Jack Johnson, a boxer who – at the height of the Jim Crow era – became the most famous and the most notorious black man on Earth. A story of one mans talent and triumph, but also racism and injustice.
Despite Johnson being one of the greatest fighters who had ever lived, one newspaper wrote at the time of his first title fight: “If the black man wins, thousands and thousands of his ignorant brothers will misinterpret his victory as justifying claims to much more than mere physical equality with their white neighbors.”
Told in six rounds and set in a boxing ring, The Royale examines society’s relationship with our present-day cultural heroes and the responsibilities that are thrust upon them when they find themselves outside of the ropes.
Further casting to be announced.
The Royale runs from 3 November 2016 until 26 November 2016 at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill.
