Derek Jacobi is to play Mercutio in a new West End production of Romeo and Juliet. The veteran actor will join his Cinderella film co-stars Richard Madden and Lily James – who will play Shakespeare’s star-cross’d lovers – in the Kenneth Branagh production at the Garrick theatre in London next summer.
Jacobi, who has a long working partnership with Branagh, said that the casting was an “intriguing challenge”. The 76-year-old told the Daily Mail that while he didn’t expect to be playing Mercutio at this stage of his career, he believes that Shakespeare’s text does hint at the character being a father figure to Romeo and his friends. He also observed that Mercutio’s age is never mentioned.
Branagh, who will direct the production as part of his recently announced year-long season of plays at the Garrick, said that to see Jacobi in Shakespeare is an “event in itself”. The production will run from 12 May 2016 until 13 August 2016.
