The Crown season six: stage stars set to appear in the Netflix series
© Dan Wooller for WhatsOnStage
The Crown has always had a tendency to cast British stage stars as part of its ongoing Netflix series. It seems apt – the show is based on Peter Morgan’s hit play The Audience – which traced the life of the Queen through her plethora of Prime Ministers.
With a huge wealth of stage talent appearing across the five seasons so far, we thought we’d highlight some of the additional performers joining for season six.
Imelda Staunton – The Queen
Staunton is already stage royalty, so it seems fairly apt that she’s given the same attention on Netflix. Plans for her appearance in Hello, Dolly! in the West End have finally come to fruition, while she has appeared in the likes of Follies, Gypsy, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Gypsy and Sweeney Todd.
Jonathan Pryce – Prince Phillip
Another theatre legend, Pryce was most recently on stage in The Height of the Storm, Florian Zeller’s highly-commended drama at the Wyndham’s Theatre. The piece then hopped across the Atlantic to Broadway.
© Dan Wooller for WhatsOnStage
Lesley Manville – Princess Margaret
Manville took over from the inimitable Helena Bonham-Carter as the Queen’s sister Margaret when the show returned for season five. She was actually at the National Theatre when the pandemic first broke out, performing alongside Hugo Weaving in The Visit or The Old Lady Comes to Call. She’ll see Margaret through to the end of her life at the start of the new millennium.
Elizabeth Debicki – Princess Diana
Australian-French actress Debicki was recently on screens in Christopher Nolan’s mindbending film Tenet, but she’s also had a series of high profile theatrical appearances – in the likes of the National’s The Red Barn and Jean Genet’s The Maids Off-Broadway alongside Cate Blanchett and Isabelle Huppert.
Dominic West – Prince Charles
West was the successor to another stage hit Josh O’Connor (O’Connor was originally meant to have starred in Romeo and Juliet at the National in 2020 but that show has transformed into a screen experience) in taking on the role of the Prince of Wales. He was last on stage in the Donmar’s revival of Les Liaisons Dangereuses alongside Janet McTeer, while previous roles include Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield and a leading role in Jez Butterworth’s The River.
Olivia Williams – Camilla Parker Bowles
Olivia Williams is a huge presence on the British stage – with appearances as recent as Marys Seacole at the Donmar Warehouse last year, with other credits including Tartuffe and Mosquitoes, both at the National Theatre. She now takes on the role of Camilla Parker Bowles, as she marries Prince Charles after many years of controversial courtship.
Bertie Carvel – Tony Blair
One of the most prolific stage actors around, Carvel has just completed a stint in a new Old Vic production of Pygmalion, with other notable credits including Ink and Matilda, where he originated the role of Miss Trunchbull. He returns as the face of New Labour for the final season, which will likely follow Blair’s fall from grace across the early 2000s and the onset of the Iraq War.
Lydia Leonard – Cherie Blair
Leonard graced the London stage earlier this year in the wild new play Women, Beware the Devil at the Almeida. Before that, she was on-stage in Oslo in the West End, The Meeting at Chichester Festival Theatre and Little Eyolf, also at the Almeida. She returns for season six as Cherie Blair.
Marcia Warren – The Queen Mother
Living legend and two-time Olivier winner Marcia Warren will see out the life of the Queen Mother in the final season of The Crown. Credits have included Stepping Out, Humble Boy and Blithe Spirit.
Khalid Abdalla – Dodi Fayed
A stage and screen regular with credits at venues like the Bush Theatre and the Almeida, where he performed in Rebecca Frecknall’s production of The Duchess of Malfi and intense satire Shipwreck.
Andrew Havill – Robert Fellowes
The Queen’s private secretary and Diana’s brother-in-law, Fellowes is an interesting figure. The actor portraying him, Andrew Havill, has an equally interesting set of credits, including James Graham’s This House, Shadowlands at Chichester Festival Theatre and a whole host of RSC productions from the late 1980s.
Sam Woolf – Prince Edward
Another theatre regular is Sam Woolf, who has performed at the Bridge Theatre (Alys, Always), the National Theatre (Antony and Cleopatra) and in Cheek By Jowl’s revival of The Winter’s Tale. He now plays the Queen’s youngest son Edward.
Ed McVey – Prince William
Drama Centre alum Ed McVey is a relative newcomer to the stage, but he did understudy in the hit two-hander Camp Siegfried at the Old Vic – a sign of exciting things to come! While his new co-star Meg Bellamy (who plays Kate Middleton) hasn’t had professional stage experience she did star in a student version of Matilda as Miss Trunchbull – the second time that name has appeared on this list!
Rufus Kampa – Prince William (younger)
While McVey may be a relatively newcomer, actor Rufus Kampa, who plays a young William, was one of the boys leading the West End cast of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4s. So a West End musical star now turned King-in-waiting!
