The full cast has been announced for the new production of Shakespeare’s Richard III starring Greg Hicks at the Arcola Theatre in London.
Hicks, who is associate artist at the Royal Shakespeare Company, will take on the role of the tyrant king after acclaimed performances as Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Coriolanus and King Lear for the RSC.
He was nominated for the Best Actor Olivier Award and won Best Shakespearian Performance at the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards for the title role in Coriolanus at the Old Vic. He is returning to the Arcola having previously starred in two sold-out runs of Clarion, An Enemy of the People and The Kreutzer Sonata.
Buckingham will be played by Peter Guinness who has recently been seen on TV in Lucky Man, Critical, Strike Back and DaVinci’s Demons. On stage he was in After Independence at the Arcola and played Claudius in Hamlet at Glasgow Citizens Theatre.
Georgina Rich, who starred in Dirty Dancing in the West End, will play Lady Anne. Her other work includes Portia in The Merchant of Venice at the RSC and appearing in Rabbit Hole at Hampstead Theatre and Between Us at the Arcola.
Queen Margaret will be played by Jane Bertish who has a long stage and TV career, most recently appearing in In The Depths of Dead Love at The Print Room.
Jim Bywater has been cast as King Edward and the Lord Mayor. He co-starred with Hicks in Clarion and was in also in the Arcola’s productions of The Cherry Orchard and The Lower Depths. He has been seen on TV for over 40 years from Coronation Street to Wallander.
Rivers will be played by Femi Elufowoju Jr who has performed extensively at the National Theatre, Royal Court and Theatre Royal Stratford East. He was in Out of Blixen at The Print Room, and in Lion Boy at the Tricycle and on Broadway.
Annie Firbank has been cast as the Duchess of York. She is a veteran of seasons at Stratford-upon-Avon, the Royal Court, Prospect Company, Actor’s Company, Stratford (Ontario), and the National Theatre. She was recently in Oresteia at the Almeida and The Crucible at the Old Vic.
Jamie de Courcey will play Richmond as well as the Keeper. His TV roles include The Crown, Taboo and Downton Abbey while recent film work includes playing Vincent van Gogh in Vincent van Gogh – A New Way of Seeing. On stage he appeared at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in Every Man Out of His Humour – Read not Dead.
Mark Jax will play both Hastings and Ratcliffe. He has been in several RSC productions, including King John, A Soldier In Every Son, and Edward IV and several National Theatre productions including Pravda, The Government Inspector and The Futurists.
Paul Kemp will play the roles of Clarence and Stanley. He has been Professor Goodman in Ghost Stories in the West End and Smee in the RSC’s Wendy and Peter Pan.
Queen Elizabeth will be played by Sara Powell who was in The Crucible at the Old Vic, Disgraced at the Bush and Macbeth at the Almeida.
Matthew Sim has been cast as Catesby. On stage his previous Shakespearian roles have included Prospero in The Tempest, Duncan in Macbeth, Mark Antony in Julius Caesar and Edward Plantagenet in Richard III as well as appearing in Saint Joan at the National Theatre.
Running from May 11 to June 10, Richard III will be directed by the Arcola’s artistic director Mehmet Ergen who previously directed Hicks in the theatre’s productions of Clarion and An Enemy of the People. It is being designed by Anthony Lamble with lighting design by David Howe and sound design by Dinah Mullen.
