Full casting and the creative team for stage and screen actor Kenneth Branagh's upcoming production of King Lear has been revealed. Branagh will direct and star in the titular role first at Wyndham's Theatre in London before transferring to Off-Broadway's The Shed.
Joining Branagh will be Mara Allen as Curan (Macbeth), Deborah Alli as Goneril (Best of Enemies), Raymond Anum as Burgundy (The Merchant of Venice), Melanie-Joyce Bermudez as Regan in her professional debut, Doug Colling as Edgar (Dear Evan Hansen), Dylan Corbett-Bader as France (The Tattooist of Auschwitz Sky), Eleanor de Rohan as Kent (Anatomy of A Scandal), Chloe Fenwick-Brown as Oswald in her professional debut, Joseph Kloska as Gloucester (The Winter’s Tale), Corey Mylchreest as Edmund (Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story), Hughie O’Donnell as Cornwall (Into The Woods), Caleb Obediah as Cornwall (Bridgerton), Jessica Revell as Cordelia / The Fool (Tracy Beaker Returns).
Previews are set to begin at Wyndham's Theatre October 21 where the work will open a 50-performance run October 31. The London run will conclude December 9, after which the production will transfer to The Shed's Griffin Theater in autumn of 2024.
With Branagh at the helm as director, the creative team also includes set and costume designer Jon Bausor, projection designer Nina Dunn, lighting designer Paul Keogan, sound designers and composers Ben and Max Ringham, choreographer Aletta Collins, and fight director Bret Yount. Casting directors are Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann
Branagh has formed a long career starring in Shakespeare's works since appearing in Royal Shakespeare Company's Henry V in 1984. On stage and screen, he has starred in over 15 productions of Shakespearean plays. Among the highlights are his film adaptation of Hamlet, and his immersive staging of Macbeth which played Off-Broadway's Park Avenue Armory.
Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company presents the production, 10 years after forming in 2013, in association with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, as well as with international production company Fiery Angel and The Shed. KBTC also includes Judi Dench, Zoë Wanamaker, Derek Jacobi, Lily James, Richard Madden, and Rob Brydon.
Visit KingLearBranagh.com.
Take a look at Branagh's Macbeth at Off-Broadway's Park Avenue Armory with the gallery below.
