Glenda Jackson in the 2016 Old Vic production of King Lear

Glenda Jackson is set to return to Broadway as King Lear

Performances of King Lear are set to begin on March 6, 2019 on Broadway.

Tom Millward
Tom Millward

It has been reported that Tony & two-time Academy Award winner Glenda Jackson will return to Broadway next spring. Fresh from her Tony Award-winning turn in Edward Albee's Three Tall Women, Ms. Jackson is set to return to the role of King Lear in an all-new Broadway production. She garnered great acclaim, including an Olivier Award nomination, for her turn as Shakespeare's tragic monarch in the Old Vic's 2016 production in London (Read Mark Shenton's 4* review on our London Theatre Guide sister site).

Ms. Jackson released the following statement: "Performing King Lear in London was a wonderful and fulfilling experience, but this is a role you continue to work on and to make new discoveries. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to explore the role anew, and look forward to the challenge of performing it on Broadway."

Previews of King Lear are set to begin on March 6, 2019, ahead of an official opening on April 11.

Scott Rudin will serve as producer and a director for the new staging will be announced in due course, along with a venue and additional casting and creative team information.

Prior to her 2018 Tony Award win for Edward Albee's Three Tall WomenGlenda Jackson had previously appeared on Broadway four times and received four Tony Award nominations. She made her Broadway debut in Marat/Sade in 1965, and went on to star in Rose (1981), Strange Interlude (1985) and the 1988 revival of Macbeth. After a 23 year-stint as a Member of Parliament in the UK, she returned to the stage in 2016 to take on the title role in London's acclaimed production of King Lear, which also earned her a fifth Olivier Award nomination. On screen, she won Academy Awards for "Women in Love" in 1971 and for "A Touch of Class" in 1974 and also earned Oscar nominations for "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (1972) and "Hedda" (1976).

(Photo by Manuel Harlan)

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