Nicholas Pinnock will have a heavy weight on his shoulders in March when he takes to the stage of the Bush Theatre to play world boxing champion Jay Jackson in Marco Ramirez’s play The Royale.
The actor, whose London stage credits include Born Bad at the Hampstead Theatre, will take on the role of the sportsman who becomes the first black heavyweight boxing champion of the world against all odds in the racially segregated world of 1905.
Loosely based on the story of boxer Jack Johnson, The Royale examines society’s relationship with our present-day cultural heroes and the responsibilities that are thrust upon them when they find themselves outside of the ropes.
Pinnock, who is best known for his screen appearances in ITV’s The Ice Cream Girls and Channel 4’s award-winning drama Top Boy, is joined in the cast by Frances Ashman and Clint Dyer.
Both of Pinnock’s co-stars return to the Bush Theatre following their performances in 2014’s Perseverance Drive. Ashman has also appeared in recent productions of This May Hurt A Bit at the St James Theatre and People at the National Theatre, while Dyer’s other stage credits include Sus at the Young Vic and Big White Fog at the Almeida Theatre.
Directed by Madani Younis, The Royale is scripted in 12 rounds by the Orange Is The New Black writer and plays at the Shepherd’s Bush venue from 13 March to 18 April.
It begins its run following the current production of Islands, which is written by Olivier Award nominee Caroline Horton and continues to bring its powerful tale about tax havens, little empires, enormous greed and the few that have it all to the venue until 21 February.