Kristin Scott Thomas to Lead THE AUDIENCE in London This Spring; Re-Imagined Production to Feature Tony Blair and More!

Helen Mirren is traveling across the pond for The Audience on Broadway this season, and now London has announced her replacement.

The Daily Mail writes that Kristin Scott Thomas will play 'Elizabeth II' in the West End at the Apollo, Shaftesbury Avenue, with previews beginning April 21 for an opening May 5, 2015. Just in time for election day!

Director Stephen Daldry told the Mail: "We're totally thrilled. Not only is Kristin a great stage actress -- she'll bring an extraordinarily different version of Her Majesty...Kristin has this incredible magnetic power and astonishing charisma. We wouldn't have done it without her. We've got Helen in New York, but if Kristin hadn't wanted to do it in London, we wouldn't have gone ahead."

He added, "Helen has been dominating the role of the Queen for so long, and is brilliant in it. But it will be re-thought and re-imagined with Kristin."

THE AUDIENCE will be re-written for its new run in London and will feature Tony Blair, who was left out of the original version. It will also take into account the current political landscape -- Ed Miliband could be making an appearance if he wins in the General Election.

For sixty years Elizabeth II has met each of her twelve Prime Ministers in a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace. Both parties have an unspoken agreement never to repeat what is said, not even to their spouses. THE AUDIENCE imagines a series of pivotal meetings between the Downing Street incumbents and their Queen. From Churchill to Cameron, each Prime Minister uses these private conversations as a sounding board and a confessional - sometimes intimate, sometimes explosive. In turn, the Queen can't help but reveal her own self as she advises, consoles and, on occasion, teases. These private audiences chart the arc of the second Elizabethan Age, from the beginning of Elizabeth II's reign to today. Politicians come and go through the revolving door of electoral politics, while she remains constant, waiting to welcome her next Prime Minister.

Thomas is currently starring in Electra at the Old Vic. She has also appeared in the West End in Betrayal and Old Times. Among her film credits are The English Patient, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Gosford Park (with Mirren). She also appeared on Broadway in 2008's The Seagull, which transferred from the West End.

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