Richard III: Kevin Spacey to star in Bridge Project at BAM

Kevin Spacey will star in the title role of Richard III for the final season of The Bridge Project. The Bridge Project will again be directed by Sam Mendes with whom Spacey worked on the film American Beauty, for which they both won BAFTA and Academy Awards.

Richard III begins its international journey in New York, opening at the BAM Harvey Theater in Feb 2012, followed by a brief international tour until its London opening at The Old Vic in May 2012. The company then embarks on a more extensive world tour from the end of Aug through Oct 2012.

The Bridge Project is a unique three-year series of co-productions by The Old Vic, BAM and Neal Street, devoted to producing large-scale, classical theatre for international audiences. The Project was originally scheduled to run from 2009 - 2011. While The Bridge Project remains a three-year endeavour, the producers say adjusting the calendar to 2012 (there are no shows in 2011) allows time to implement a more ambitious international tour with a larger company.

The full company will again be drawn from leading American and British actors, with complete casting to be announced closer to the date.

It will be the final production for the Bridge Project, a three-year transatlantic collaboration produced by The Old Vic, Brooklyn Academy of Music & Neal Street Productions, that has seen US and British actors tour the world in productions including The Tempest and As You Like It in 2010, and The Cherry Orchard & The Winter's Tale in 2009.

Commenting on the 2012 season, Sam Mendes says: "I am absolutely delighted to be working with Kevin again for the first time since American Beauty, and I am doubly thrilled that he will be leading year three of The Bridge Project. Richard III is a play I love, and a role I think Kevin is born to play. I'm also thrilled that the partnership between our three entities has strengthened and blossomed over the course of this venture, along with a host of invaluable international partnerships that have enabled us to extend the reach of global touring year after year."