Anna Carteret will follow in the Oscar-winning footsteps of Dame Judi Dench, playing Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare In Love when the stage adaptation of the hit film opens in London this summer.
Carteret, whose recent stage outings include Uncle Vanya (Vaudeville Theatre) and Salt, Root And Roe (Trafalgar Studios), joins the previously announced Tom Bateman (Shakespeare) and Lucy Briggs-Owen (Viola) in the production that will open at the Noël Coward Theatre on 23 July, following previews from 2 July.
Adapted from Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman’s Oscar-winning screenplay by Billy Elliot The Musical’s Lee Hall, romantic comedy Shakespeare In Love tells the tale of the young Bard who is suffering with writer’s block until discovering his muse, noblewoman Viola De Lesseps. Their forbidden love draws a wealth of characters into the story and inspires Shakespeare to write the greatest love story of all time.
Also joining the company of 30 actors and musicians are The Borgias’ David Oakes, who returns to the London stage to play Christopher Marlowe after starring in the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s production of Pride And Prejudice last summer. Former Olivier Award nominee Paul Chahidi, currently starring in Privacy at the Donmar Warehouse, will play Henslowe, with Abigail McKern, who won an Olivier Award for her 1982 performance in As You Like It, as the Nurse.
The cast is completed by Ian Bartholomew, Tony Bell, David Ganly, Richard Howard, Harry Jardine, Patrick Osborne, Alistair Petrie, Doug Rao, Ferdy Roberts, Colin Ryan, Daisy Boulton, Ryan Donaldson, Janet Fullerlove, Sandy Murray, Timothy O’Hara, Thomas Padden, Elliott Rennie, Charlie Tighe and Tim Van Eyken.
Shakespeare In Love opens at the Noël Coward Theatre following the run of current hit Good People, which transferred to the West End after a successful run at Hampstead Theatre. Starring Imelda Staunton and Angel Coulby, David Lindsay-Abaire’s play follows a struggling single mother in South Boston who sees the return of an old flame as the chance to change her circumstances. Her visit to the former lover brings unexpected consequences for both of them.