Haydn Gwynne, Chuk Iwuji and Gemma Jones are to appear alongside Kevin Spacey in Richard III, the final instalment of Sam Mendes’s Bridge Project, which plays at the Old Vic from 29 June.
Former Royal Shakespeare Company member Gwynne, who plays Queen Elizabeth, was last seen on stage at the Almeida theatre in Becky Shaw. Previous to that she originated the role of Mrs Wilkinson in the London production of Billy Elliot The Musical, reprising her performance on Broadway two years later. Gwynne is also a familiar face on screen, with credits including Drop The Dead Donkey, Peak Practice and Merseybeat.
Iwuji (Buckingham) was part of the 2009 Olivier Award-winning RSC ensemble for The Histories, which was staged at London’s Roundhouse. Since then his stage credits have included The Misanthrope in the West End and The Observer and Welcome To Thebes at the National Theatre.
Jones (Queen Margaret) is a veteran stage and screen actress whose work includes the films Sense And Sensibility, Bridget Jones’s Diary and the Harry Potter franchise, the TV series Spooks and, on stage, The Family Reunion at the Donmar Warehouse.
Mendes’s production of Richard III marks the culmination of his transatlantic Bridge Project, which, over three years, has brought a company of British and American actors together to perform productions at the Old Vic, Brooklyn Academy of Music and on international tour.
Richard III, which stars Spacey in the title role in his first collaboration with director Mendes since the Oscar-winning film American Beauty, will premiere at the Old Vic prior to international dates during the autumn and a season at BAM early next year.
Richard III opens to the press on 29 June and plays at the Old Vic until 11 September. It follows Thea Sharrock’s production of Terence Rattigan’s Cause Célèbre, which runs until 11 June.
CB