SUNNY AFTERNOON's John Dagleish Boards Kenneth Branagh's THE WINTER'S TALE

John Dagleish, Olivier winner for SUNNY AFTERNOON, is headed back to the West End.

The Daily Mail reports that he will take on the role of conman 'Autolycus' in Kenneth Branagh's THE WINTER'S TALE. Branagh and Rob Ashford will co-direct the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company's first show of the year, which is slated to run October 17, 2015, through January 16, 2016, in rep with Terence Rattigan's HARLEQUINADE.

"It's kind of ridiculous to think that I'm going to be in a rehearsal room with Judi Dench and Kenneth Branagh!" Dagleish told the Mail. Branagh reportedly tapped the actor for his Shakespeare play after seeing Dagleish as The Kinks frontman 'Ray Davies' in SUNNY AFTERNOON.

Dagleish will also act alongside Jessie Buckley, who plays Perdita. "I sat around the piano with Jessie, who has this stunning, jazzy, breathy voice," he told the Mail.

In case you need to brush up on your Shakespeare, Perdita is a girl raised by a shepherd unaware of the drama between her real, royal parents -- King Leontes (played by Branagh) and his supposedly unfaithful wife, Queen Hermione (portrayed by Miranda Raison). Judi Dench is also in the cast as 'Paulina'.

Michael Pennington, John Shrapnel, Hadley Fraser, Zoe Rainey, Kathryn Wilder and Jack Colgrave Hurst are also in the company, with SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE's Tom Bateman as Perdita's love interest, 'Florizel'.

Aside from SUNNY AFTERNOON, Dagleish recently appeared onstage in Out of Joint's THE MOTHER. Film appearances include THE MONUMENTS MEN, SNOW IN PARADISE and AGE OF HEROES. TV includes The Monuments Men, Snow in Paradise and Age of Heroes. TV includes LARK RISE TO CANDLEFORD, BEAVER FALLS, STARLINGS and HENRY V, THE HOLLOW CROWN.

Pictured: John Dagleish and Ned Derrington in SUNNY AFTERNOON. Photo by Roy Tan.

To post a comment, you must register and login.