Joint CEOs Artistic Director Paul Hart and Executive Director Claire Murray, and the whole team at Newbury’s The Watermill Theatre announce the cast and creative team for The King’s Speech, a new production of David Seidler’s play at The Watermill Theatre between Friday 20 September and Saturday 2 November.
The King’s Speech takes an intimate view of one of life’s most unorthodox relationships between Bertie, the soon-to-be-crowned King George VI, and speech therapist Lionel Logue. As Hitler’s threat on Europe encroaches, Bertie fights his own battle to overcome his speech impediment at the time his country needs him most.
Imagine yourself as a child terrified of your own parents, because every time you speak you disappoint them. Teased. Unable to share a joke with friends. Trapped in a body that refuses to obey your commands.
The role of ‘Bertie’ will be played by Peter Sandys-Clarke, whose West End stage credits include The Letter (Wyndham’s Theatre) Journey’s End (Playhouse and Duke of York’s), When We Are Married (Garrick) and A Daughter’s A Daughter (Trafalgar Studios). Other stage credits include Private Lives, A Touch of Danger, Before the Party (Theatre Royal Windsor), The Importance of Being Earnest (UK Tour), and The Browning Version (Theatre Royal Bath). His screen credits include The Crown, Masters of the Air, Ghosts, Secret Invasion, Downton Abbey and Foyle’s War.
Arthur Hughes will play ‘Lionel Logue’. Best known for roles in the Netflix series The Innocents and in Radio 4’s The Archers, his stage roles include La Cage Aux Folles (Park Theatre), The Solid Life of Sugar Water for Graeae, and the title role in Richard III – the first disabled actor to do so for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Hughes can currently be seen on screen in the title role in Disney+ series Shardlake.
Aamira Challenger (Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution – London County Hall, The Comedy of Errors – Shakespeare’s Globe, and Breeding – King’s Head Theatre) will play ‘Elizabeth’.
Rosa Hesmondhalgh (We Could All Be Perfect – Sheffield Crucible, Children of the Night – Cast Doncaster, and The Snow Queen – Yvonne Arnaud), will play ‘Myrtle Logue’ / ‘Wallis Simpson’. Christopher Naylor (returning to The Watermill following roles in Dangerous Corner, Hard Times, and The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, as well as The Woman in Black and Warhorse in the West End, will play ‘Cosmo Lang’. Stephen Rahman-Hughes (Aladdin and Bombay Dreams – West End, Mrs Warren’s Profession – Theatre Royal Bath, Rock of Ages – UK tour) will play ‘David’ / ‘Stanley Baldwin’. Jim Kitson (The Grinning Man – Trafalgar Studios, The Drowned Man – Punchdrunk / NT, Cold Buffet – Live Theatre, and Wind in the Willows and Treasure Island – Derby Theatre) in the roles of ‘King George V’ / ‘Winston Churchill’.
Director Emma Butler said, “I’m thrilled to be working on David Seidler’s brilliant play, The King’s Speech. Bringing these fantastic characters to life with such a superb cast and building this beautiful central relationship with Peter and Arthur will be a joy. Set against a backdrop of a world in political turmoil, the rise of fascism and a crumbling of tradition, The King’s Speech feels searingly relevant in 2024. Deconstructing barriers across societies and continents, this play shows that, underneath the surface, we are all the same at heart, and that friendships can bloom regardless of where we come from.”
The Watermill Theatre have partnered with The Fluency Trust to navigate the themes of the play.
The Fluency Trust is a registered charity, who work in partnership with Swindon Borough Council to run highly specialist residential courses for young people who stammer. The combination of challenging activities and intensive therapy is highly effective in developing confidence and the ability to manage stammering positively. Further information can be found here.
The King’s Speech will be directed by Emma Butler, with set and costume design by Bretta Gerecke, sound design and composition by Robin Colyer, lighting design by Ryan Day, production management from Tom Nickson, Company Stage Manager Cat Pewsey, Deputy Stage Manager Eleanor Walton, Assistant Stage Manager Leila Stephenson, audio description from Jo Myers and captioning by Min Gilby.
The Watermill Theatre production of The King’s Speech is sponsored by Damson Restaurant, Newbury.
