Theatre News

King’s Speech Play Tours UK from Feb 2012, Noble Directs

| London's West End |

7 October 2011

The long-rumoured first production of David Seidler‘s The King’s Speech – the play that became an Oscar-winning phenomenon on screen – will tour the UK from February next year, directed by former RSC artistic director Adrian Noble.

The King’s Speech tells of how King George VI conquered his debilitating stammer with the help of maverick Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue. Portrayed on screen by Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush, the roles will be played on stage by Charles Edwards and Jonathan Hyde.

The tour kicks off at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford from 1-11 February, and will subsequently visit Nottingham Theatre Royal (13-18 February), Bath Theatre Royal (20-25 February), Theatre Royal Brighton (27 February-3 March), Richmond Theatre (5-10 March) and Theatre Royal, Newcastle (12-17 March).

Director Adrian Noble was the artistic director and chief executive of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1990 to 2003. Among myriad directing credits he has helmed several West End musicals including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Secret Garden.

Charles Edwards played the lead role of Richard Hannay in the Olivier Award winning West End production of The 39 Steps and later on Broadway. He most recently appeared as Benedick, opposite Eve Best, in Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe and in Peter Hall’s production of Twelfth Night at the National Theatre.

Jonathan Hyde is an Australian born actor whose recent theatre credits include Captain Hook in Peter Pan (Kensington Gardens), Rattigan’s Nijinsky (Chichester Festival Theatre), Jumpers (National Theatre) and Antigone (Old Vic Theatre). He has appeared in numerous productions for the RSC including Trevor Nunn’s 2007 King Lear and The Seagull, which toured internationally.

The King’s Speech will be designed by Anthony Ward and is being produced by Playful Productions and Michael Alden Productions.