Michael Elwyn, Nathaniel Parker and Rufus Wright will join Helen Mirren in the world premiere of The Audience next year when it opens at the Gielgud theatre.
Playing three of the country’s Prime Ministers, the trio will join the previously announced Haydn Gwynne as Margaret Thatcher, Robert Hardy as Winston Churchill, Paul Ritter as John Major and Mirren as Elizabeth II in the world premiere of Peter Morgan’s play, which runs from 15 February to 15 June.
Elwyn, who will play Anthony Eden, is well-known for his on screen roles in television series including Robin Hood, EastEnders, The Syndicate and Foyle’s War, but has theatre credits including Rope at the Almeida theatre and The Long Road at the Soho theatre.
Playing current Prime Minister David Cameron, Wright has worked extensively on stage in productions including West End long-runner The 39 Steps, The Empire at the Royal Court, Frost/Nixon and Mary Stuart at the Donmar Warehouse and Journey’s End in the West End. Wright’s on screen credits include BBC comedy series The Thick Of It and Bond film Quantum Of Solace.
Best known for playing the lead role in hit BBC series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Parker, who will play Cameron’s predecessor Gordon Brown, has appeared on stage in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Winter’s Tale and Richard II for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Romeo And Juliet at the Old Vic and a touring production of Simon Gray’s Quartermaine’s Terms, which will be revived in the West End next year starring Rowan Atkinson.
Directed by Stephen Daldry, The Audience examines one of the most secret meetings in British public life, the weekly discussion between the Queen and the Prime Minister, the content of which is never disclosed, not even to the pair’s spouses. Breaking this contract of silence, Morgan’s play imagines how the Prime Ministers may use these private conversations as a sounding board and confessional, with the Queen revealing her own self as she advises, consoles and, on occasion, teases.
The Audience will open at the Gielgud theatre following the stage adaptation of Chariots Of Fire, which plays until 2 February.