Stephen Beckett will play Prospero in the Stafford Festival Shakespeare (SFS) production of The Tempest at Stafford Castle.
Beckett who appeared on ITV in the roles of PC Jarvis in The Bill and Dr Ramsden in Coronation Street played Benedick in the 2007 SFS production of Much Ado About Nothing.
Richard Gibson, who was Herr Flick in the 1980s BBC sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo!, will be Gonzalo. Zephryn Taitte is Caliban and Grace Carter plays Miranda.
Two actors who appeared in the SFS production of Othello in 2016 are back: James Lawrence as Sebastian and Reece Richardson as Ferdinand.
The rest of the cast comprises Maisey Bawden (Adriana), Johnathan Charles (Stephano), James Hornsby (Trinculo), Morgan Philpott (Antonio) and Gavin Swift (Ariel).
The Tempest producer Derrick Gask said, “what an incredible show we have in store for audiences this year. We’re all excited to be working with such an amazing cast of actors, many of whom audiences will recognise from their previous work in film, theatre and television.”
The Tempest runs from Thursday 22 June until Saturday 8 July. For the first time in its 27-year history, the festival will feature a Sunday performance on 25 June at 5PM.