Kenneth Branagh to Launch West End Theatre Company This Fall; MACBETH Set for London, the Big Screen?

According to the Daily Mail, stage and screen veteran and director of Disney's upcoming live-action CINDERELLA film, Kenneth Branagh has created his own theatre company and is currently ironing out its first season of plays in the West End.

Starting in October, the company will present Shakespeare's THE WINTER'S TALE, as well as a new work and a classic. Branagh is set to helm some of the shows while starring in others, all at London's Garrick Theatre.

The Fiery Angel's producers will general manage the company, with casting director Lucy Bevan on board to cast the productions and find crew members.

This isn't Branagh's first foray into running a company. Two decades ago, he and David Parfitt founded the Renaissance Theatre Company alongside Branagh's then-wife Emma Thompson, with help from stage greats such as Judi Dench, Samantha Bond and more.

But creating a new ensemble apparently isn't enough for Branagh; the ambitious thesp is also in talks to bring his Manchester International Festival production of MACBETH (which ran recently in New York City at the Park Avenue Armory) to London and to the big screen with Martin Scorsese.

Five-time Academy Award nominee Kenneth Branagh has directed and starred in several film adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, including HENRY V, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, OTHELLO, HAMLET, LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST and AS YOU LIKE IT.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride