Cast revealed for Mike Bartlett’s King Charles III for BBC
Two
We have an exceptional team, both in front of and behind the
camera, and I'm looking forward to bringing this contemporary royal tragedy to
a national television audience.
Mike Bartlett
Date: 10.11.2016
Last updated: 09.11.2016 at 17.08
Category: BBC Two; Drama; Casting; Commissioning
Charlotte Riley (Close To The Enemy, Peaky Blinders) has
been cast in the role of Kate Middleton in BBC Two’s ground-breaking one-off
drama, King Charles III, adapted by award-winning playwright and television
screenwriter Mike Bartlett (Doctor Foster, Press) from his Olivier
Award-winning play.
The inventive future history drama, produced by Drama
Republic, reunites many of the creative team behind the original Almeida
Theatre play, including director and fellow Olivier Award-winner and Tony Award
nominee, Rupert Goold. Tim Pigott-Smith returns to the title role of Charles,
with Oliver Chris as William, Richard Goulding as Harry and Margot Leicester as
Camilla. Adam James will also reprise his role as Prime Minister Tristram
Evans.
Joining the cast alongside Charlotte are Priyanga Burford
and Tamara Lawrance.
Mike Bartlett says: "I couldn’t be more excited that
King Charles III is now fully, brilliantly cast and about to begin shooting. We
have an exceptional team, both in front of and behind the camera, and I'm
looking forward to bringing this very contemporary royal tragedy to a national
television audience."
Charlotte Riley says: “I’m really excited to come on board
King Charles III - Mike Bartlett and Rupert Goold are two brilliant creatives.
It’s such a unique project, to be both modern and rich in verse and to play
someone who is real but yet totally re-imagined for this story, is an exciting
prospect for an actor. Kate Middleton is a really interesting woman,
particularly within the context of this play, and it is a challenge I am really
looking forward to.”
Tim Pigott-Smith adds: “Performing King Charles in Mike
Bartlett’s astonishing play in London and New York has been one of the high
points of my career. I am thrilled that we are to film it - it is a drama about
us, now, who we are, and the relevance of our monarchy. Television gives it an
important democratic voice.”
Daringly written in blank verse, King Charles III is an
imagining of Prince Charles’ accession to the throne following the Queen’s
death. When he refuses to sign a controversial bill into law, political chaos
ensues: a constitutional crisis, rioting on the streets and a tank in front of
Buckingham Palace. As Charles wrestles with his own identity, the playful and
poignant drama explores the implications for him, his family, and his subjects.
Executive Producers Greg Brenman and Roanna Benn add: “We
are delighted and excited in equal measure that Mike Bartlett, one of Britain's
most gifted writers, and the visionary Rupert Goold will re-unite to bring
their extraordinary theatre production to television. Alongside Masterpiece and
the BBC we are as proud as anything to be the producers of this standout
event.”
King Charles III is a co-production of the BBC and
Masterpiece, in association with Drama Republic. The Executive Producers for
Drama Republic are Greg Brenman and Roanna Benn, alongside Mike Bartlett and
Rupert Goold. Matthew Read is the Executive Producer for the BBC and Rebecca
Eaton for Masterpiece.
Filming of the 1x90 minute drama will take place in and
around Leeds from November.
Pictured: Tim Pigott Smith, pictured in the Almeida
Production (Image Credit: Johan Persson)
CK
Masterpiece to Air Film of Tony® Award-Nominated Play King Charles III
Posted by Cassie Gage on Jul 31, 2016 at 2:00 am
MASTERPIECE on PBS and the BBC announced that the hit
Broadway show King Charles III will be adapted for television. A 2016 Tony® nominee
for Best Play, King Charles III imagines Prince Charles’ ascension to the
throne following Queen Elizabeth’s death. It will air on MASTERPIECE on PBS in
2017.
Lauded by the New York Times as a “flat-out brilliant
portrait of a monarch in crisis,” the play, originally produced by the Almeida
Theatre, was critically acclaimed in London and New York. The 90-minute
adaptation will reunite the Tony®-nominated creative team behind the play:
Writer Mike Bartlett will adapt from his own script — daringly written in blank
verse—and Rupert Goold will direct.
“King Charles III is an ingenious play that promises to be
as riveting on television as it was on stage,” says MASTERPIECE Executive
Producer Rebecca Eaton. “It's a play set in the near future, but with Shakespeare
never far away.” MASTERPIECE is presented on PBS by WGBH Boston.
“We are delighted and excited in equal measure that Mike
Bartlett, one of Britain's most gifted writers, and the visionary Rupert Goold
will re-unite to bring their extraordinary theatre production to television.
Alongside MASTERPIECE and the BBC we are as proud as anything to be the
producers of this standout event,” said Executive Producers Greg Brenman and
Roanna Benn.
Screenwriter Mike Bartlett said, “I'm thrilled that on
Broadway, American audiences have responded so well to the story of King
Charles III. It's therefore fantastic that the film of the play has found a
perfect home at MASTERPIECE. It will mean that, along with original director
Rupert Goold, we can tell this story to people across the whole country."
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