Gugu Mbatha-Raw to Play 'Nell Gwynn' in New Play at Shakespeare's Globe

From a Disney classic to new work onstage, Gugu Mbatha-Raw is stretching her range this year. According to the Daily Mail, the upcoming live-action BEAUTY AND THE BEAST star will lead a new play by Jessica Swale at Shakespeare's Globe this fall.

In it, she will portray 'Nell Gwynn', one of the first-ever female stage stars (born in 1650), and, as Mbatha-Raw puts it, "arguably one of the most important women in theatre history."

The Mail writes that Swale's play, directed by Christopher Luscombe, addresses fame and its costs, chronicling Nell's life from child prostitute to stardom.

Mbatha-Raw will soon appear as 'Plumette' in the live-action adaptation of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. She recently starred oon the big screen in JUPITER ASCENDING, BEYOND THE LIGHTS and BELLE. Other credits include TV appearances in TOUCH, UNDERCOVERS, SPOOKS, DOCTOR WHO and more.

The actress is a graduate of London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and came to the attention of the public eye when she was cast as 'Ophelia' opposite Jude Law's 'Hamlet' at the Donmar Warehouse, a production which later ran in the West End and on Broadway.