Pete Postlethwaite will bring his portrayal of King Lear to London next year when Rupert Goold’s (pictured) Headlong production of Shakespeare’s epic tragedy, which opens at the Liverpool Everyman in November, transfers to the Young Vic from 29 January to 28 March (press night 4 February).
Postlethwaite’s extensive career in the theatre, which began at the Liverpool Everyman in the 1970s, has included seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearances in The Tempest and The Homecoming for Manchester Royal Exchange and the one-man play Scaramouche Jones, in which he was also directed by Goold. He is a familiar face on screen, with credits including the films Brassed Off, The Constant Gardener, The Usual Suspects, Romeo And Juliet and In The Name Of The Father – for which he was Oscar nominated – plus television series Sharpe.
Speaking at a press launch in Liverpool, Warrington-born Postlethwaite commented: “Doing King Lear is a big, big privilege – terrifying and exciting at the same time – and I hope it will fulfil all our dreams and hopes. I feel it is the right time, in the right place, with the right people.”
Postlethwaite is joined in the cast by John Shrapnel, Forbes Masson, Nigel Cooke, Caroline Faber, Charlotte Randle, Amanda Hale, Jonjo O’Neill, Tobias Menzies, Michael Colgan, Clarence Smith, John-Paul MacLeod and Jacob Anderson.
They are directed by Goold, who won the Best Director Laurence Olivier Award at this year’s ceremony for his Chichester Festival Theatre production of Macbeth, starring Patrick Stewart. As Artistic Director of Headlong Theatre Company, which co-produces King Lear, Goold’s work includes Six Characters In Search Of An Author, which is now playing at the Gielgud, Faustus and The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot. Currently one of the busiest directors in London theatre, his other projects include No Man’s Land, which opens at the Duke of York’s in October, and the revival of Oliver! at the Drury Lane in December.
King Lear comes to the Young Vic following the theatre’s Christmas show Amazonia (27 November to 24 January), the culmination of a project linking British and Brazilian performers.
CB