King's Speech: Adrian Noble to direct?

Adrian Noble

Broadway producer Michael Alden, who has acquired the rights to the film The King’s Speech, has told CNN that Adrian Noble, former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, will direct a Broadway production of David Seidler’s Oscar winning movie The King's Speech.

Adrian Noble's Broadway credits include: 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (Tony nomination) and 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.' In 2010 Noble was appointed artistic director of San Diego's annual Shakespeare Festival. He was artistic director of Britain's world famous Royal Shakespeare Company from 1990 to 2003 .

Alden also told CNN that none of the actors from the movie will reprise their roles in the stage production, ""We talked about that early on, but it wouldn't serve them. You're really looking for actors to come and breathe new life into the characters, themselves. It's always great to see what a new actor will bring to a role."

According to CNN, The script version of the story differs from the screenplay and spends more time addressing the history and the politics surrounding King Edward VIII's abdication and the subsequent ascension to the throne of his brother, the shy, unpolished, stuttering King George VI. "The play delves a little bit more into some of the political backdrop of the time," Alden said.

The stage version of David Seidler’s Oscar winning movie The King's Speech, originally rumored to be arriving on Broadway in 2011, is now said to be arriving in the Fall of 2012, according to entertainment journalist Roger Friedman.

Friedman reports that the stage play will have its world premiere in the UK, playing a short run at Guilford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theater in January 2012 before transferring to the West End. If all goes well, the show is expected to arrive on the Great White Way in the Fall of 2012.

There has been no offical announcements made about a stage production.

The King's Speech is an historical drama that tells of the personal relationship between King George VI and his Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue.

George VI became King after his brother Edward VII abdicated the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Suffering from a nervous stammer, the thought of public speaking filled George VI with dread. After traditional thearapists failed to help, Queen Elizabeth called upon the services of unorthodox Austrailian Lionel Logue to help her husband. Logue worked with the king over the coming decades, and helped him find his voice with which he rallied the British nation during the trying years of WWII.

David Seidler originally wrote The King's Speech as a stage play, which he later adapted as a screenplay.

The stage version calls for a cast of eight to nine characters, with the two lead characters being King George VI and Edward VII. Alden emphasised the need to get these two pivotal characters right, but give no hint as to who he might like to see portray the roles on Broadway.

The film, The King's Speech, directed by Tom Hooper, starred Colin Firth as 'King George VI' and Geoffrey Rush as speech therapist 'Lionel Logue.' Both Firth and Rush were nominated for Oscar's for their roles, with Firth winning an Academy Award for his performance.

A British film, The King's Speech won seven British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), including Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Best Actor for Firth, Best Supporting Actor for Rush, Best Supporting Actress for Bonham Carter, Best Original Screenplay for Seidler, and Best Music for Alexandre Desplat. The film had been nominated for 14 BAFTAs, more than any other film.