Tom Hiddleston to play Hamlet, directed by Kenneth Branagh, in London
Actor Tom Hiddleston is set to play Hamlet in a production for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh.
The production is in aid of the RADA Attenborough Campaign, which has been set up to support the redevelopment of the school's Chenies Street site in London.
Tom Hiddleston is known for recently playing the lead role in the BBC series The Night Manager, for which he won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy Award. He was last seen on stage at the Donmar Warehouse in Josie Rourke's production of Coriolanus, in which he played the title character.
Hamlet is a co-production between RADA and Kenneth Branagh's theatre company. Branagh recently won the Special Award at this year's Olivier Awards, and last year his company enjoyed a residency at the Garrick Theatre, performing The Entertainer, Romeo and Juliet and The Painkiller.
The production will run from 1st to 23rd September at RADA's Jerwood Vanbrugh Theatre in London. Tickets go on sale via an online ballot which opens at 12pm on 1st August. Registration for the ballot closes at 6pm on Sunday 6th August, with booking opening for successful applicants on Wednesday 9th August, and closing the following day at 6pm.
The full cast for the production also includes Ayesha Antoine (Rosencrantz/Bernarda), Lolita Chakrabarti (Queen Gertrude), Eleanor de Rohan (Guildastern / Marcella / Priest), Nicholas Farrell (King Claudius), Sean Foley (Polonius / Osric), Ansu Kabia (King Hamlet / Player King / Gravedigger), Caroline Martin (Horatia), Irfan Shamji (Laertes / Player Queen) and Kathryn Wilder (Ophelia).
The production will have design by James Cotterill, lighting by Paul Pyant and sound design by Paul Arditti and Christopher Reid.
This means there will be three productions of Hamlet running in London simultaneously; Robert Icke's production starring Andrew Scott at the Harold Pinter closes on 2nd September, and a production with Gyles Brandreth opens at the Park Theatre opens on 30 August.
Photo courtesy Ricky Brigante (flickr)
Originally published on