Full Cast Announced For Philippa Gregory's RICHARD, MY RICHARD Opening At Shakespeare North Playhouse On 8 March

The full cast has been announced for best-selling historical author Philippa Gregory's playwright debut Richard, My Richard.

This world premiere – a co-production between Shakespeare North Playhouse and Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds - is an innovative new stage play. Inspired by the real life of Richard III; which challenges the reputation of one of history's most enigmatic characters: a passionate, tender portrait of the man in his time, and the women who determine his fate.

Richard, My Richard, directed by Katie Posner, will launch at Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot 8 – 30 March, with a national press night on 12 March, and then play from 11 – 27 April at Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds.

With an explosion of tarmac, a Leicester Car park erupts and Richard III crashes from his lost tomb to meet the character who has ruined his reputation: History – the record keeper who doesn't always have his mind on the task.

Richard believes he has risen from the grave to heaven with an unstained conscience, and History has the awkward task of telling the Undead King that he is remembered as one of the greatest villains. History admits- he has his own doubts. He is far from a reliable narrator: his perspective is skewed, he has his favorites, some people he completely ignores. History overlooks people and stories.

Funny, poignant, and underpinned by research, Richard's secrets have not died with him, he rises up to tell us the story, his story, History.

The full cast are Kyle Rowe (The Devil's Hour - Amazon Prime, Sexy Beast - Paramount+) as ‘Richard', Tom Kanji (Julius Caesar - Royal Shakespeare Theatre/UK Tour, Private Peaceful - UK Tour) as ‘History', Tyler Dobbs (A Midsummer Night's Dream - Shakespeare North Playhouse, Tom's Midnight Garden - Theatre By The Lake) as ‘George/Buckingham', Jennifer Matter (Arthur & Merlin: Knights of Camelot - Picture Perfect, Villain - Greenville Media) as ‘Queen', Olivier Award nominee Tori Burgess (Tony! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] - UK Tour, Pride & Prejudice* (*Sort Of) - Tron Theatre, West End & UK Tour) as ‘Anne', Laura Smithers (First Encounters: Twelfth Night - RSC's The Other Place & UK Tour, Clarion - Arcola Theatre) as ‘Margaret', Matt Concannon (Lazarus Project- SKY, The Girl on the Train- UK Tour) as ‘Edward/ Thomas Stanley' and Mary Savage (Who the F—k is Shakespeare - 20 Stories High,  as ‘Elizabeth'. [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] - UK Tour, Pride & Prejudice* (*Sort Of) - Tron Theatre, West End & UK Tour) as ‘Anne', Laura Smithers (First Encounters: Twelfth Night - RSC's The Other Place & UK Tour, Clarion - Arcola Theatre) as ‘Margaret', Matt Concannon (Lazarus Project- SKY, The Girl on the Train- UK Tour) as ‘Edward/ Thomas Stanley' and Mary Savage (Who the F—k is Shakespeare - 20 Stories High) as ‘Elizabeth'.

Dr Philippa Gregory CBE, FRHS, is one of the world's foremost historical novelists. She wrote her first novel, Wideacre, while completing her PhD in eighteenth-century literature at the University of Edinburgh, and it sold worldwide, heralding a new era for historical fiction. Her flair for blending history and imagination developed into a signature style and Philippa went on to write many bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl and The White Queen. Now a recognised authority on women's history, Philippa graduated from the University of Sussex and received a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, where she is a Regent and was made Alumna of the Year in 2009. She holds honorary degrees from Teesside University and the University of Sussex. She is a fellow of the Universities of Sussex and Cardiff and an honorary research fellow at Birkbeck University of London. In 2020 she was made a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for her services to literature and charity.  Philippa is a member of the Society of Authors and in 2016, was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Historical Fiction Award by the Historical Writers' Association. In 2018, she was awarded an Honorary Platinum Award by Nielsen for achieving significant lifetime sales across her entire book output.

Philippa's latest book, NORMAL WOMEN - 900 YEARS OF MAKING HISTORY, published in October 2023 with HarperCollins, is a history of women in England over nine centuries, from the Norman invasion in 1066.

Philippa Gregory said, “I was inspired to write this play after having the privilege to attend the internment of Richard lll at Leicester. I wanted to write a play about the real Richard and the people - especially the influential women- around him. Then the most important character walked into the play - History - who in an absent-minded moment gave us such a dark picture of the king whose motto was loyalty and whose passion was chivalry.”

Philippa Gregory will lead a post-show discussion at Shakespeare North Playhouse on Tuesday 19 March following the evening performance, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds on Thursday 18 April following the matinee performance, and Thursday 25 April following the evening performance.

Katie Posner, Director, said, “I am delighted to be directing Philippa Gregory's debut play. She is a remarkable writer whose perspective is so beautifully emotive, layered and deeply human. This is a play about a well-known Plantagenet king, but it's also about the youngest son, propelled to be the next in line, when that was not his destiny. Central to his story are the extraordinary women who surround him, ambitious, driven, cleverly and brilliantly guiding the narrative. Throughout Richard, My Richard Philippa presents a conscious counterpoint to Shakespeare's Tudor propaganda narrative and opens up the story with the biggest question of all. What happens when History has made its decision, and the written accounts are closed!”

This producing partnership between Shakespeare North Playhouse – a replica Shakespearean Playhouse opened in 2022 – and Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds – the last working Regency theatre in England – showcases their shared ambition to stage great contemporary theatre in historic settings.

Laura Collier, Creative Director of Shakespeare North Playhouse said, “We are thrilled to be co-producing the world premiere of Richard, My Richard at Shakespeare North Playhouse. As a masterful and internationally renowned storyteller, Philippa's debut play expertly highlights the ruthlessness of the Tudor era, illuminating the perspectives of the women of the court, and inviting audiences to question the reliability of history's narrative.

Set in the iconic backdrop of Shakespeare North's Cockpit Theatre and co-producing with our friends from Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, we believe this new play will captivate audiences from both the north and the south. Richard, My Richard is a fresh and fearless play that celebrates the power of theatre and its ability to bring to life lost stories.”

Owen Calvert-Lyons, Artistic Director of Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds said, “Philippa Gregory is an extraordinary writer. Generations of readers have discovered the history of our country through her writing and fans of Philippa's novels are going to be just as excited by her first play. Philippa has a great skill in humanising historical characters, allowing us to understand their world and their choices. Now she is taking on one of history's most notorious villains and inviting us to reassess what we know, or think we know about him. I'm delighted that we will be embarking on this adventure with Shakespeare North Playhouse. We will be transforming our auditorium ‘in the round' with seating on the stage, providing audiences in Bury St Edmunds with a new theatre experience and making our two unique theatres the perfect settings for this brilliant new play.”

Richard, My Richard is produced by Shakespeare Playhouse North and Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, in association with Daniel Schumann.

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