THE Almeida Theatre will launch its first ever live satellite broadcast to big screens around the world, when it presents Richard III at the Regent in Christchurch on Thursday July 21 at 7pm.

Artistic Director Rupert Goold’s production of Richard III, starring Ralph Fiennes as Shakespeare’s most notorious villain and Vanessa Redgrave as Queen Margaret, this promises to be a real highlight in the 400th Anniversary year of Shakespeare’s death.

War-torn England is reeling after years of bitter conflict. King Edward is ailing, and as political unrest begins to stir once more, Edward’s brother Richard – vicious in war, despised in peacetime – awaits the opportunity to seize his brother’s crown.

Through the malevolent Richard, Shakespeare examines the all-consuming nature of the desire for power, amid a society riddled by conflict. Olivier-winning director Rupert Goold’s (Macbeth, King Charles III) searing new production focuses on the mythology surrounding a monarch whose machinations are inextricably woven into the fabric of British history.

The production will be filmed using multiple cameras around the stage and auditorium, with John Wyver as producer. Wyver currently produces the RSC Live from Stratford-Upon-Avon international broadcasts, and with Illuminations he previously worked on filmed versions for the BBC of Hamlet with David Tennant and Macbeth with Patrick Stewart, which was directed by Rupert Goold. Rupert also directed Richard II for the BBC.

Ralph Fiennes returns to the Almeida for the first time in 16 years, having previously played the title roles in Ivanov, Hamlet (Hackney Empire), Richard II and Coriolanus (Gainsborough Studios). Other theatre work includes The Master Builder for The Old Vic; Man and Superman, Oedipus, The Talking Cure, Six Characters in Search of an Author for the National Theatre; Brand, The Plantaganets, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Troilus and Cressida for the RSC; The Tempest, God of Carnage in the West End; First Love at Lincoln Centre Festival and Sydney Festival; The Faith Healer at the Gate Theatre Dublin and on Broadway; Julius Caesar at the Barbican. His films include A Bigger Splash, Hail Caesar! Spectre, Two Women, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Invisible Woman, Skyfall, Great Expectations, Coriolanus, Harry Potter, The Constant Gardener, The Reader, Hurt Locker, In Bruges, Schindler’s List and The English Patient. His television credits include Page Eight, Turks & Caicos and A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia.

This is Vanessa Redgrave’s Almeida debut. Her many stage credits include The Aspern Papers (Olivier Award for Best Actress), Lady Windermere's Fan, Daniel Deronda, The Threepenny Opera, Design for Living and The Lady from the Sea in the West End; The Year of Magical Thinking (also on Broadway), The Cherry Orchard and Not About Nightingales at The National Theatre; Driving Miss Daisy, Long Day’s Journey into Night (Tony Award for Best Actress) and Vita and Virginia on Broadway; The Tempest, As You Like It and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the RSC; and Much Ado About Nothing at the Old Vic. Notable film appearances include Coriolanus opposite Ralph Fiennes, Evening, Venus, Howard’s End, Mrs Dalloway, Atonement, The Whistleblower, A Man for All Seasons and Camelot. Her television appearances include Nip/Tuck, The Day of the Tiffid and Call the Midwife. She is a six-time Oscar nominee and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Julia. During her career Vanessa has also won the Emmy, BAFTA, Cannes, Golden Globe, and the Screen Actors Guild awards. She received the 2010 BAFTA Fellowship, is a 2003 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee and was made CBE in 1967.

Regent, Christchurch

01202 499199

www.regentcentre.co.uk