Ron Cook, Victoria Hamilton, Samantha Spiro, Zubin Varla and Indira Varma have joined Derek Jacobi in the cast of Twelfth Night, the second production in the Donmar West End season at the Wyndham’s theatre.
The impressive cast assembled for the production which opens on 10 December also includes Mark Bonnar, Norman Bowman, Guy Henry, James Howard, Lloyd Hutchinson and Alex Waldmann.
Twelfth Night, a tale of shipwreck, parted twins and confused love, is one of Shakespeare’s plays which most demands a strong ensemble cast with its parallel plotlines and many important characters.
Many of the newly announced cast members have worked with Twelfth Night director Michael Grandage on previous productions.
Hamilton, who is widely regarded as one of the leading British actresses of her generation, previously teamed up with the Donmar Warehouse Artistic Director during his time in charge of the Sheffield Crucible, starring in Suddenly Last Summer, The Country Wife and As You Like It. Her television credits include Larkrise To Candleford and Pride And Prejudice.
Spiro, who appeared in Funny Girl at the Chichester Minerva theatre earlier this summer, also appeared with Hamilton in As You Like It, and worked with Grandage on Merrily We Roll Along and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Varma appeared in Grandage’s productions of The Vortex and Privates On Parade. More recently she appeared in the Royal Court production of The Vertical Hour.
Varla, Henry and Cook all have impressive Royal Shakespeare Company credentials, while Bonnar and Bowman are both veterans of the Donmar Warehouse’s much lauded production of Parade.
Jacobi plays the role of troubled steward Malvolio. One of Britain’s most respected stage and screen performers, Jacobi has also worked with Grandage on multiple projects, including A Voyage Round My Father, Don Carlos and The Tempest. He is probably best known for his television performance as Claudius in I, Claudius. His other screen credits include The Gathering Storm, Gosford Park and Gladiator.
Twelfth Night begins its run at the Wyndham’s theatre on 5 December, continuing until 7 March. It follows the opening production of the Donmar West End season, Ivanov, which stars Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hiddleston, Gina McKee and Andrea Riseborough. Chekhov’s tale of a man in the grip of depression opened to critical acclaim earlier this week.
MA