Theatre News

Martin Freeman plays Richard III in Jamie Lloyd's second Trafalgar season

The ”Hobbit” star returns to the stage for the first time since ”Clybourne Park” in 2010

| London | London's West End |

4 April 2014

Martin Freeman will return to the stage this summer to star in Richard III as part of Jamie Lloyd's second season at Trafalgar Studios.

Freeman, star of The Office, Sherlock and The Hobbit on screen, will "be in rehearsal by late May or early June of this year, and in performance by July", according to the Daily Mail.

Lloyd himself confirmed the news on Twitter last night.

Thanks for your tweets about Martin Freeman’s Richard III @TrafTransformed. More details about booking etc will be available in the morning.

— Jamie Lloyd (@lloydjamie) April 3, 2014

Richard III, which will run until September, is one of four new plays in the season, further details of which are expected to be announced in the coming days.

Martin Freeman's theatre credits include Clybourne Park, Kosher Harry (Royal Court), The Exonerated (Riverside Studios) and Blue Eyes and Heels (Soho Theatre).

On film, he has appeared in Hot Fuzz, Breaking and Entering, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Confetti and Love Actually.

Freeman's Sherlock co-star Benedict Cumberbatch is also soon to tackle the Bard on stage – his Hamlet will play the Barbican next year.

Other recent stars to play Richard III, one of Shakespeare's most notorious villains, include Kevin Spacey at the Old Vic and Mark Rylance at the Globe.

Lloyd's previous season at Trafalgar Studios – which ran under the banner 'Trafalgar Transformed' – included Macbeth starring James McAvoy, The Hothouse with Simon Russell Beale and The Pride featuring Hayley Atwell.

Read our recent interview with Jamie Lloyd