Romola Garai & Emma Cunniffe Will Lead Helen Edmundson’s Queen Anne in the West End

Romola Garai will join Emma Cunniffe in the West End transfer of Queen Anne. Performances of Helen Edmundson’s play will begin on June 30 at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, where it is set to open on July 10. The Royal Shakespeare Company production, directed by Natalie Abrahami, premiered at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2015.

The play opens just before Princess Anne (Cunniffe, reprising her role from the Swan Theatre staging) is to be crowned in 1702. As she prepares for her reign, several advisors vie for influence over the future monarch—including her closest friend and confidant, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (Garai). As Sarah’s pressure on Anne intensifies, so does their relationship, resulting in an estrangement filled with deceit and blackmail.

Garai is mostly known for her film work, including performances in Atonement, Amazing Grace, Vanity Fair, Inside I’m Dancing, Glorious 39 and Suffragette. Her previous stage credits include King Lear and The Seagull with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the off-Broadway premiere of Indian Ink in 2014.

Cunniffe’s U.K. stage credits include The Master Builder, Tales from Hollywood, Losing Louis, Women Beware Women, Proof, The Entertainer, Conquest of the South Pole and A Doll’s House.

The limited engagement will run through September 30. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.