The King in the North will wear a new crown upon the reopening of the Donmar Warehouse in London. Game of Thrones actor Kit Harington will star as the titular character in the Shakespeare play Henry V.
According to Sunday World, the London theater will reopen this September, as it has been undergoing renovations to improve the building’s accessibility. It closed in March 2020. Donmar’s production of Henry V will run from February to April 2022. The play will be directed by Max Webster.
Regarding his casting as the Shakespearean king, Harington said, “Henry V is the part I’ve always dreamed of playing and the Donmar, a stage I could only have dreamt of the chance to perform him on.”
Harington added that he feels “honored” to be involved in Donmar’s return, remarking that Henry V “is a role that is fascinating for our times in its study of a complex and controversial leader. Max Webster is a fantastic director and I can’t wait to step on stage again.”
Harington recently welcomed his first child (a boy) with his wife, Rose Leslie. Leslie also starred in Game of Thrones as Ygritte. A fierce, witty, and intelligent Wildling, Ygritte was also a love interest for Harington’s character, Jon Snow, early on in the show. Their romance clearly unfolded offscreen as well; Harington and Leslie married in 2018.
According to the Royal Shakespeare Company’s website, Henry V is thought to be written in 1599. The play follows certain events of the Hundred Years War. Henry V makes a claim to rule France in addition to England. He consults the Archbishop of Canterbury about his claim to France’s throne, but invades France after the Dauphin (the eldest son of the king of France) sends him an “insulting message.”