Photo Flash: First Look at THE CARDINAL at Southwark Playhouse

Natalie Simpson (Royal Shakespeare Company's recent productions of King Lear, Hamlet and Cymbeline) joins an eleven-strong cast to play Duchess Rosaura alongside the previously announced Stephen Boxer in THE CARDINAL at Southwark Playhouse. James Shirley's tragic masterpiece, directed by Justin Audibert, plays from 26 April - 27 May with a press performance on 28 April.

Check out photos from the show below!

"All great men know, the soul of life is fame." The state of Navarre is in crisis. An unscrupulous Cardinal has the ear of the King and is hungry for power. The Duchess Rosaura longs to marry the Count D'Alvarez, but the Cardinal wants her for his brutish nephew. To tighten his grip on the Kingdom, the ruthless Cardinal will stop at nothing to secure the marriage. But in the Duchess it seems he has finally met his match...

Hailed as James Shirley's tragic masterpiece, The Cardinal (1641) was one of the last plays staged in England before Oliver Cromwell's ban on theatre. With remarkably lucid and fast-paced dialogue, it is the captivating story of a religious monster and his relentless pursuit of power.

Starring Stephen Boxer (King Lear, National Theatre) and Natalie Simpson (King Lear, Hamlet and Cymbeline, Royal Shakespeare Company), directed by Justin Audibert (Snow in Midsummer and The Jew of Malta, Royal Shakespeare Company) and produced by Troupe (After October, Flowering Cherry and The White Carnation, Finborough Theatre).

Photo credit: Mitzi de Margary

Marcus Griffiths and Natalie Simpson
Marcus Griffiths and Natalie Simpson
Natalie Simpson
Natalie Simpson
Natalie Simpson
Rosie Wyatt, Natalie Simpson, and Sophia Carr-Gomm
Sophia Carr-Gomm, Natalie Simpson, Jay Saighal, and Ashley Cook
Stephen Boxer
Stephen Boxer
Stephen Boxer
Stephen Boxer and Natalie Simpson
Stephen Boxer and Natalie Simpson
Stephen Boxer, Paul Westwood, Timothy Speyer, and Rosie Wyatt