Star of stage and screen Ian McKellen is heading to Norwich on a UK tour of a major new play. 

Player Kings has been adapted and directed by Robert Icke from William Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2.

It will run at the Noël Coward Theatre in London's West End this spring and then head to a handful of UK venues, including Norwich Theatre Royal from July 17 to 20 2024. 

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McKellen has a career spanning seven decades, ranging from Shakespearean dramas to major film roles such as Gandalf in Lord of the Rings.

Norwich Evening News: The cast of Player Kings, which is heading to Norwich Theatre RoyalThe cast of Player Kings, which is heading to Norwich Theatre Royal (Image: Manuel Harlan)

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He will star as Sir John Falstaff, with Toheeb Jimoh (Ted Lasso, Romeo and Juliet) as Prince Harry and Richard Coyle (Ink, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore) as King Henry IV.

Mckellen said:  “Player Kings is a version of Shakespeare’s most English plays. So I am glad we are bringing our production across the country which they celebrate.”

Priority booking opens on March 25 and tickets go on general sale on March 28 (both at 10am) at norwichtheatre.org or call 01603 630000.