The full company has been revealed for Hamlet, directed by Justin Audibert and starring Olivier Award-winner Giles Terera in the title role.
The production marks Chichester Festival Theatre’s first-ever staging of Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy and will run at the intimate Minerva Theatre from 6 September to 4 October 2025.
Joining Terera – renowned for his acclaimed turns in Hamilton, Dr Strangelove, Othello at the National, and Blues for an Alabama Sky – is a formidable cast of stage and screen talent. Ariyon Bakare, fresh from his BAFTA-winning performance in Mr Loverman, takes on the role of Claudius. Sara Powell (The Seagull, Damned) plays Gertrude, while Eve Ponsonby (The Stepmother, Miss Austen) portrays Ophelia and Keir Charles (Quiz, South Pacific) appears as Polonius.
Ryan Hutton (Only Fools and Horses, A Midsummer Night’s Dream) is cast as Laertes, with Sam Swann (The Comedy of Errors, One Day) as Horatio. Tim Preston and Jay Saighal step into the roles of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern respectively, and Ozzy Aigbomian makes his professional stage debut as Fortinbras.
Other company members include David Angland (The Homecoming), Geoff Aymer (The Taxidermist’s Daughter), Nana Amoo-Gottfried (The Box of Delights), Simon Darwen (The Agency, Years and Years), Beatie Edney (Poldark), and Nick Howard-Brown (Hey! Christmas Tree).
The production promises a fresh and urgent exploration of Shakespeare’s “supreme tragedy,” with Terera leading the journey through grief, betrayal, and the unravelling of a young prince’s psyche in a state riddled with decay and distrust.
Justin Audibert’s creative team includes Lily Arnold (design), Ryan Day (lighting), Ed Clarke (sound), Lucy Cullingford (movement), Cristian Cardenas (fight direction), and Matilda James CDG (casting).
Highlights of Chichester Festival Theatre’s 2025 season include the upcoming musical Top Hat (14 July – 6 September), directed and choreographed by Tony and Olivier Award-winner Kathleen Marshall (Anything Goes); William Golding’s enduring adventure Lord of the Flies (19 September – 11 October), adapted by Nigel Williams and directed by Anthony Lau (The Crucible, Miss Saigon); and a festive staging of Matt Haig’s A Boy Called Christmas (15 – 31 December).
Earlier in the season, audiences were treated to a new adaptation of Anna Karenina (7 – 28 June), starring real-life couple Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games) and David Oakes (Victoria, Vikings: Valhalla); a musical take on The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (5 May – 14 June), featuring Jenna Russell (Hello, Dolly!) and Mark Addy (The Full Monty); and George Brant’s play-with-music Marie and Rosetta (25 June – 26 July), starring Beverley Knight directed by Monique Touko in a co-production with Rose Theatre and ETT.
More about Hamlet tickets starring Giles Terera
Related News
Oh, Mary! in London’s West End – Everything you need to know
First Look: Cole Escola, Michael Urie and Giles Terera in Oh, Mary!
Michael Urie, Giles Terera and more announce Oh, Mary! dates over the summer
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Reviews: Electric Turn from Aaron Pierre in Clint Dyer’s Bold Old Vic Revival
Latest News
Broadway legend Patti LuPone returns to the London Coliseum for Valentine’s Day 2027
Helen of Troy never got to tell her side. Watch the trailer for the play that does
After a sell-out world tour, The Choir of Man returns to the West End this Christmas
