Full Cast Announced For RICHARD II at House of Commons and Arcola Theatre

Full casting has been announced for RICHARD II at the House of Commons and Arcola Theatre. Jack Gamble and Quentin Beroud's production relocates the action to 21st-century Westminster, where it opens on the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. This is the first ever performance of a Shakespeare play in the Palace of Westminster, with only 100 tickets available for the one-off performance on St George's Day (April 23), before its transfer to the Arcola.

As previously announced, Tim Delap will play Richard, the charismatic leader who faces a challenge from Harri Bolingbroke (Hermione Gulliford), reimagined in this new version as a female Leader of the Opposition.

Announced today are David Acton (Duke Of York/Thomas Mowbray), Eleanor Cox (Eleanor De Bohun/Green/Ross), Hayden Wood (Bagot), Joseph Adelakun (Aumerle/Bushy/Willoughby), Natasha Bain (Isabel/Northumberland) and Roland Oliver (John Of Gaunt/Bishop Of Carlisle).

David Acton performed in the Propeller productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Comedy of Errors and Henry V, the RSC productions of Edward III, Henry V, The Roman Actor, Eastward Ho! and The Comedy of Errors, and the Young Vic production of King Lear.

Eleanor Cox's previous roles include Miss Casewell in The Mousetrap, Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Cressida in Troilus and Cressida.

Hayden Wood perfomed in the Belt Up Theatre productions of The Bunker Triology, Outland, The Boy James, Lorca Is Dead, Odyssey, Octavia and The Tempest. His other stage work includes Alice's Adventures Underground (Les Enfants Terribles) and Sherlock Holmes: A Working Hypothesis (UK tour).

Joseph Adelakun's stage work includes The Comedy of Errors (National Theatre), The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives (Theatre Royal Stratford East), The Big Bang and Over The Line (Soho Theatre), Boi Boi Is Dead (West Yorkshire Playhouse/Watford Palace), Butter Side Down (Theatre503) and In The Jungle of the Cities (Arcola Theatre).

Natasha Bain's stage work includes In The Blood (Finborough), The Royal Hunt of the Sun (National Theatre), The Gondoliers / The Water Babies (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Lion King (West End), The Amen Corner (Bristol Old Vic), The Red Balloon (Birmingham Rep/National Theatre) and The Threepenny Opera (Donmar Warehouse).

Roland Oliver's work with Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory includes King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, The Changeling, Pericles, Three Sisters, Titus Andronicus, Love's Labour's Lost, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, Richard II, The Cherry Orchard and The Conquering Hero. He also performed in Hobson's Choice (Royal Exchange), The Substance of Fire (Theatre Royal Plymouth) and The Hothouse (Chichester Festival Theatre/West End).

Hermione Gulliford's recent stage work includes 3 Winters and Hotel at the National Theatre. Previously she played Portia in The Merchant of Venice and Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, both at the RSC.

Tim Delap starred in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Casanova, and opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in the BBC's To The Ends Of The Earth. His stage work includes The Woman in Black in the West End, UK tours of The History Boys and Regeneration, and All's Well That Ends Well at the RSC.

The ticket ballot for the House of Commons performance closes next Wednesday, April 6. Tickets for performances at Arcola Theatre are available now.

For more information, and to get tickets, visit www.shakespeareinparliament.com

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