Park Avenue Armory has announced the full cast that will star in director Robert Icke's contemporary adaptations of Shakespeare's Hamlet and Aeschylus' Oresteia, which will be performed in repertory. Previews for Hamlet will begin June 1, with opening night set for June 28 and a run through August 13. Oresteia will begin previews June 9, open June 21, and run through August 13.
Hamlet will star Alex Lawther in the title role, and will be joined by Lia Williams as Gertrude, as previously announced. Williams will also reprise the role of Klytemnestra, a role in she which earned an Olivier nomination for her 2015 performance.
Joining Lawther and Willams in Hamlet will be Angus Wright as Claudius, Olivier winner Luke Treadaway as Laertes, Kirsty Rider as Ophelia, Peter Wight as Polonius, Joshua Higgott as Horatio, Tia Bannon as Guildenstern, Calum Finlay as Rosencrantz, and Michael Abubakar as Marcellus. Wright will return to the stage in Oresteia as Agamemnon/Aegisthus along with Treadaway as Orestes, Rider as Doctor, Wright as Menelaus, Higgott as Talthybius, Bannon as Electra, and Abubakar as Calchas.
David Rintoul, Hara Yannas, Gilbert Kyem Jr., Ross Waiton, and Marty Cruikshank fill out the casts. Higgott also serves as understudy for Hamlet and Orests, while Finlay serves as understudy for Laertes.
Cruickshank, Finlay, Higgott, Rintoul, Wight, and Wright all starred in the original Almeida Theatre production of Hamlet. Higgott also starred in the original Almeida Theatre production of Oresteia alongside Wright and Yannas.
"It is no small feat to stage one epic tragedy, but this stellar cast, under the singular direction of Robert Icke, will bring two to life at once," said Rebecca Robertson, Founding President and Executive Producer of Park Avenue Armory, in a statement.
Both Icke’s Hamlet and Oresteia premiered at the Almeida Theatre, but his adaptations of the two family dramas will be performed in repertory together for the first time at Park Avenue Armory.
For tickets and more information, visit ArmoryOnPark.org.
