Romola Garai will star as Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough alongside Emma Cunniffe as the eponymous monarch in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Queen Anne.
Completing the cast will be Daisy Ashford as Lady Clarendon, Sheena Bhattessa as Lady Somerset, Gabrielle Brooks as Jezebel and Lady Russell, Dave Fishley as King William III and Groom, Jonny Glynn as Jonathan Swift, Chu Omambala as John Churchill and Sid Sagar as Samuel Masham and Inns of Court Singer.
They join the previously announced Jonathan Christie (Arthur Maynwaring), Michael Fenton Stevens (Dr John Radcliffe), James Garnon (Robert Harley), Richard Hope (Sidney Godolphin), Hywel Morgan (Prince George), Beth Park (Abigail Hill) and Carl Prekopp (Daniel Defoe).
Queen Anne originally opened at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in November 2015. It will transfer to Theatre Royal Haymarket for a thirteen week limited run from 30 June until 30 September, with a press night on 10 July. Tickets are now on sale at www.RSCQueenAnne.com.
Written by Helen Edmundson (The Heresy of Love, RSC) and directed by Natalie Abrahami (Happy Days, Young Vic), this gripping new play explores the life of one of England’s little-known sovereigns and her intimate friendship with her childhood confidante Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. A timely production for turbulent political climes, the reign of Queen Anne saw the rise of the free press as well as the Act of Union between England and Scotland.
Queen Anne plays at Theatre Royal Haymarket 30 June – 30 September 2017
Photo: Darren Bell