News

The cast for Trevor Nunn’s production of The Lion in Winter at the Theatre Royal Haymarket has been confirmed. Robert Lindsay (Henry II) and Joanna Lumley (Eleanor of Aquitaine) are joined by Tom Bateman (Prince Richard), Sonya Cassidy (Alais Capet), Joseph Drake (Prince John), Rory Fleck-Byrne (Philip King of France) and James Norton (Prince Geoffrey). The show will open on Tuesday 15th November 2011 (following previews from Tuesday 4th November). Tickets are now on sale until Saturday 28th January 2012.

Set in 1183, The Lion in Winter opens with the arrival of Eleanor of Aquitaine at King Henry’s chateau in France for the yuletide festivities. Eleanor has been estranged from Henry for several years after supporting their son in a revolt against him. Now she is invited to a royal gathering that will shape the future of the Plantagenet dynasty. As the court gathers, including Philip II of France and his half-sister Alais (who has become Henry’s mistress), it becomes apparent that all three of Henry’s sons want to inherit his crown and what begins as a celebration turns into a bitter family war of betrayal and deceit.

The Lion in Winter originally opened at the Ambassador Theatre on Broadway in March 1966, starring Robert Preston as Henry II and Rosemary Harris as Eleanor of Aquitaine. A 1999 revival saw Laurence Fishburne take the role of Henry II and Stockard Channing play Eleanor of Aquitaine. The play became an Academy Award-winning film in the late 1960s starring Katharine Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton.