Charles Edwards to Star in THE KING'S SPEECH on Stage

According to the Daily Mail, actor Charles Edwards is set to portRay King George VI in the world premiere of The King's Speech at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford beginning February 1. Following the run, the show will go on tour until March 17 when it will be followed by a run at the West End.

This is not Edwards first time playing the role of King of England.  Ten years ago, he was cast as Edward VIII in a TV drama. Other roles for Edwards include Richard Hannay in the original stage verison of "The 39 Steps" at the Tricycle Theatre, as well as Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Peter Hall's recent "Twelfth Night" at the Cottesloe.  Edward's TV work includes BBC TV's drama Holy Flying Circus. He is currently rehearsing with Joseph Fiennes for the  play "Happy Days In The Art World".

THE KINGS SPEECH was last year's Oscar-winning movie, and starred Colin Firth.  It was originally written by David Seidler and was intended as a piece for the theatre.  The film's director, Tom Hooper first heard about The King's Speech after his mother, the author Meredith Hooper, attended a rehearsed reading of the work in Hampstead.

THE KINGS SPEECH tells the story of King George VI, who suffered from a severe speech stammer. His wife, the future Queen of England, tracks down Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue to help her husband overcome his impediment.  Seidler wrote to the Queen Mother several years ago, and was granted permission to tell the story of how Logue worked with the King before and during the abdication of his brother, King Edward VII. Adrian Noble, the former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, has  joined Seidler to work on the original text of the play.

In addition to Edwards, the cast will include Australian born Jonathan Hyde in the role of speech therapist Logue.