The RSC’s stage adaptation of The Mirror and the Light – Hilary Mantel’s final novel in her award-winning Wolf Hall trilogy – has announced further casting ahead of its September opening at the Gielgud Theatre in London.
Already announced are Ben Miles and Nathaniel Parker, who both return to the roles they played in the previous two adaptations of Hilary Mantel’s trilogy,Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. Ben Miles returns as Thomas Cromwell, and has also co-adapted Mantel’s book for the stage, alongside the author herself.Nathaniel Parker is also resuming hisOlivier Award-winning and Tony Award nominated role to play Henry VIII.
Also coming back to their original roles are Nicholas Boulton as the Duke of Suffolk, Matt Pidgeon as Stephen Gardiner and Giles Taylor as Archbishop Cranmer.
Actors signing on the production for the first time include Rosanna Adams (Anna of Cleves), Paul Adeyefa (Christophe), Aurora Burghart (Elizabeth Seymour), Terique Jarrett (Gregory Cromwell), Jordan Kouamé (Rafe Sadler), Geoffrey Lumb (Thomas Wriothesley), Olivia Marcus (Jane Seymour) Tony Turner (Kingston), Leo Wan (Richard Riche) and Nicholas Woodeson (Duke of Norfolk). Rosanna Adams, Aurora Burghart and Jordan Kouamé are making their professional debuts. Final full castings is to be announced soon.
Director Jeremy Herrin returns to direct the final instalment, with a creative team that includes Christopher Oram for scenic and costume design, who won both Olivier and Tony Awards for his work on Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, and Stephen Warbeck for music.
Mantel’s trilogy charts the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell in the ruthless court of Henry VIII. The Mirror and the Light is co-produced by Playful Productions and the RSC.
Mantel recently received the prestigious Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction for The Mirror and the Light, which she also won for Wolf Hall in 2010. Wolf Hall won the Man Booker Prize in 2009, and Bring Up the Bodies won in 2012, making Mantel the first woman ever to have received the award twice. Bring Up the Bodies also won the Costa Novel Award, the first time the same novel has won both this and the Man Booker.
Tickets now on sale for The Mirror and the Light.
The Mirror and the Light will run from 23 September 2021 until 28 November 2021 at the Gielgud Theatre, London.
