Full Casting & Dates Announced for West End Transfer of Farinelli and the King, Starring Mark Rylance

We’re keeping a close eye on this one—it has Broadway written all over it. Dates and full casting have been announced for the previously reported West End production of the Mark Rylance-led Farinelli and the King. The entire company will transfer with the show from Shakespeare’s Globe, including the three-time Tony winner as King Philippe V of Spain, along with Sam Crane playing the acting role of Farinelli and the singing role shared by Iestyn Davies and Rupert Enticknap. The production will play a limited engagement September 14 through December 5 and officially open on September 29 at the Duke of York’s Theatre.

The cast will also feature Huss Garbiya as Doctor Jose Cervi, Melody Grove as Isabella Farnese, Colin Hurley as Metastasio and Edward Peel as De la Cuadra.

Directed by John Dove and designed by Jonathan Fensom, Claire van Kampen’s new play is set in eighteenth-century Spain and show tells the true story of Farinelli, once the world’s most famous castrato and one of the greatest celebrities of his time, and his decision to trade fame and fortune in the opera-houses of Europe for a life of servitude at the court of King Philippe V. The new play explores the dynamics between Farinelli and the royal couple, featuring many of the exquisite arias first sung by Farinelli in the 1730’s.