The King's Speech, the play from which the Oscar-winning movie that starred Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush was adapted, will set out on its first national tour in 2015.
Starring Raymond Coulthard as King George VI and Jason Donovan as his Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue, the production will be directed by Birmingham Rep's Artistic Director Roxana Silbert. The production opens at Chichester Festival Theatre on Thursday 5 February 2015.
The play, which had a West End run in 2012, tells the story of King George VI's relationship with his speech therapist as the country stands on the brink of World War II.
In 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated for the love of Wallis Simpson. Bertie, his brother, is crowned King George VI of England. At an office in Harley Street in London, Bertie and his wife Elizabeth (the future Queen Mother) are meeting Australian maverick speech therapist and failed actor, Lionel Logue.
Here Bertie and Logue embark on an extraordinary journey to overcome his stammer and deliver the now famous speech broadcast across the globe to inspire his people.
Raymond Coultard said, "having been away from theatre for a couple of years, I was hoping to find a project that would truly challenge me. I think it is safe to say I have found it."
From Chichester, the production will tour to Birmingham, Cambridge, Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield, Belfast, Malvern, Milton Keyes, Oxford, Edinburgh, Leeds and Truro.