Ben Miles to Star as Cromwell in RSC's WOLF HALL and BRING UP THE BODIES?

According to the Daily Mail, Ben Miles (Coupling) will star as Thomas Cromwell in the Royal Shakespeare Company's winter double-bill of WOLF HALL and BRING UP THE BODIES, based on Hilary Mantel's novels set in the court of Henry VIII.

Read the original report here.

Cromwell is Henry VIII's well known "fixer" and plays a central role in both of Mantel's bestselling, Booker prize-winning novels. The books are adapted for the first time for the stage in two parts by Mike Poulton, commissioned by Playful Productions, and directed by Jeremy Herrin. These two plays paint the compelling portrait of the political rise to power of Thomas Cromwell in the Tudor Court and will play in repertoire.

Wolf Hall won the Man Booker in 2009, and Bring up the Bodies won in 2012, making Mantel the first woman ever to have received the award twice. She achieved another first recently, when Bring up the Bodies also won the Costa Novel Award, the first time the same novel has won both this and the Man Booker.

Nathaniel Parker is in talks to join the productions as Henry VIII, with Paul Jesson as Cardinal Wolsey. RSC's artistic director Gregory Doran and Jeremy Herrin will direct.

Aside from his TV role in Coupling, Ben Miles has also appeared in Peak Practice, Cold Feet, Lark Rise to Candleford, The Forsyte Saga and more. Miles is currently filming for the TV series Dracula. He last appeared on Broadway in The Norman Conquests Trilogy.

WOLF HALL will begin performances on December 11, followed by BRING UP THE BODIES on December 19, 2013, with both productions running through March 29, 2014. Both shows are eyeing London following their Stratford runs.

The BBC is also currently adapting Mantel's novels for the screen, starring Mark Rylance as Cromwell (link up). Filming is set to being next spring.

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