Photo Flash: Greg Hicks and Company in Rehearsal for RICHARD III at the Arcola

Following his celebrated performances as Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Coriolanus and King Lear for the Royal Shakespeare Company, RSC Associate Artist Greg Hicks takes on the role of the tyrant king Richard. Hicks was nominated for the Best Actor Olivier Award, and won Best Shakespearian Performance at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, for playing the title role in Coriolanus at the Old Vic. He is returning to Arcola Theatre having previously played Morris Honeyspoon in two sold-out acclaimed runs of Clarion, Dr Thomas Stockmann in An Enemy of the People (both directed by Mehmet Ergen) and The Kreutzer Sonata.

The rest of the cast are: Jane Bertish (Margaret) played an M15 Director in Charlie Brooker's Netflix series, Black Mirror: Hated in the Nation, and was last seen on stage in In The Depths of Dead Love at the Print Room. Jim Bywater (King Edward/Lord Mayor) co-starred with Greg Hicks in Clarion and was in The Cherry Orchard and The Lower Depths (all at Arcola). Jamie De Courcey (Keeper/Richmond) is in The Crown on Netflix, Six Wives and Taboo. His recent films include playing Vincent van Gogh in Vincent van Gogh - A New Way of Seeing. On stage he recently appeared at The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in Every Man Out of His Humour - Read not Dead. Femi Elufowoju Jr (Rivers) has performed extensively at the National Theatre, Royal Court Theatre and Theatre Royal Stratford East. He was in Out of Blixen at The Print Room, and in Lion Boy at the Tricycle and on Broadway. Annie Firbank (Duchess of York) is a veteran of seasons at Stratford-upon-Avon, Royal Court, Prospect Company, Actor's Company, Stratford (Ontario), and the National Theatre. She was recently in Oresteia (Almeida) and The Crucible (Old Vic). Peter Guinness (Buckingham) has recently been seen on TV in Lucky Man, Critical, Strike Back and DaVinci's Demons. On stage he was in After Independence (Arcola) and Claudius in Hamlet at Glasgow Citizens Theatre. Mark Jax (Hastings/Ratcliffe) has been in several RSC productions, including King John, A Soldier In Every Son, and Edward IV and several NT productions including Pravda, The Government Inspector and The Futurists. Paul Kemp (Clarence/Stanley) was Professor Goodman in Ghost Stories in the West End and Smee in Wendy and Peter Pan (Royal Shakespeare Company). Sara Powell (Queen Elizabeth) was in The Crucible (Old Vic), Disgraced (Bush), Macbeth (Almeida). Georgina Rich (Lady Anne) was Portia in The Merchant of Venice (RSC) and was in Rabbit Hole (Hampstead) and Between Us (Arcola). Matthew Sim (Catesby) was in the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. On stage his previous Shakespearian roles have included Prospero in The Tempest, Duncan in Macbeth, Mark Anthony in Julius Caesar and Edward Plantagenet in Richard III and Saint Joan (NT).

On the creative team are director Mehmet Ergen, designer Anthony Lamble, lighting designer David Howe, and sound designer Dinah Mullen.

King Edward is on the throne, and England is at peace. But don't worry - it won't be that way for long. Gripping and outrageous, Shakespeare's Richard III is the tale of a ruthless, power-crazed misogynist who lies and cheats his way to the highest seat in the land. "England hath long been mad and scarred herself."

Now booking at www.arcolatheatre.com.