Ralph Fiennes’ next theatre role will see him take on the unscrupulous, ambitious king Richard III when Rupert Goold stages Shakespeare’s play at the Almeida Theatre in June.
Fiennes, who can currently be seen at The Old Vic in The Master Builder, will be joined in the production by Vanessa Redgrave, who is to play Queen Margaret.
The production reunites the world renowned pair who previously worked on Fiennes’ movie directing debut, Coriolanus, in which Fiennes took the title role with Redgrave as his mother.
Fiennes joins recent Richards Martin Freeman, Mark Rylance and Kevin Spacey in playing the monarch-to-be who manipulates and murders his way to the throne. Full casting is yet to be announced.
According to today’s Daily Mail, the show will begin its run at the Almeida on 6 June, following the world premiere of Leo Butler’s new play Boy.
Running from 5 April to 28 May, Boy follows an unlikely hero, someone easily missed in the crowd, a boy, at a bus stop. The production, which features designers Miriam Buether and Ultz working together for the first time, has announced a cast including Ruby Bridle (Gypsy and Matilda The Musical), Zainab Hasan (Donmar Warehouse’s Henry V), Wendy Kweh (Chimerica) and Sarah Niles (The Crucible, The Old Vic).