Here’s your first look at Wicked star Jonathan Bailey in Richard II
The first images have been released of Jonathan Bailey in rehearsals for Nicholas Hytner’s production of Richard II. Described as a “fresh take on Shakespeare’s subtle, caustic and powerful play,” it will star Bailey as the “charismatic, eloquent and flamboyantly witty” title character. “And a disastrous King – dishonest, dangerous, and politically incompetent,” reads the synopsis. “Echoing down the centuries is the perennial problem: how to deal with a ruler who has a rock-solid right to rule but is set on wrecking the country he leads.” The play will follow “two startlingly modern figures: Richard, an autocrat who believes he is divinely sanctioned, and Henry Bullingbrook (played by Royce Pierreson), a hard-headed pragmatist who has genuine authority.” The cast also includes Christopher Osikanlu Colquhoun as Earl of Northumberland, Olivia Popica as Queen Isabel, Amanda Root as Alice Green and the Duchess of York, Phoenix Di Sebastiani as Thomas Mowbray and Groom, Clive Wood as John of Gaunt and Michael Simkins as the Duke of York.
Photo: Craig Sugden More incoming: Adam Best as Sir John Bagot, Seamus Dillane as Lord Surrey, Vinnie Heaven as Aumerle, Jordan Kouamé as Sir John Bushy and Harry Percy, Gerard Monaco as Sir Stephen Scroop and Keeper, George Taylor as Lord Fitzwater and Badria Timini as Abbess of Carlisle.
While Bailey is best-known for his roles as Anthony Bridgerton in Bridgerton (2020-present), Tim Laughlin in Fellow Travelers (2023) and Fiyero in Wicked (2024), the British actor began his career with productions at the Royal Shakespeare Company.
His stage credits include Othello (2013), The Last Five Years (2016), King Lear (2017), The New York Realist and Company (2018).
