Jonathan Pryce is to play King Lear at the Almeida theatre next year. Directed by the venue’s Artistic Director Michael Attenborough, the production will be staged as part of the venue’s 2012 autumn season.
Pryce has enjoyed a hugely successful stage and screen career spanning over five decades, but Attenborough’s production will mark his first time playing the iconic role in what is often called Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy.
Pryce began his career at the Liverpool Everyman theatre where he went on to become Artistic Director in the 1970s. Winning his first Olivier Award for Hamlet in 1980, Pryce has since proved to be a versatile performer appearing extensively in both plays and musicals. Recent London productions include The Caretaker, which played at the Trafalgar Studios in 2010, Dimetos at the Donmar Warehouse, A Reckoning at Soho theatre and musicals including Oliver! and My Fair Lady – both of which earned him an Olivier Award nomination – and Miss Saigon, for which he took home both Olivier and Tony Awards.
Pryce is also well known for his television and screen work which has seen him appear in numerous high-profile films including Evita, Tomorrow Never Dies and the Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy.
Dates and further casting for King Lear are yet to be announced.
CM