Kenneth Branagh Season's Red Velvet - full cast

The full cast has been announced for Red Velvet, at the Garrick Theatre from 23 January to 27 February 2016, with an official opening set for 1 February. This will be the third play in the inaugural Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company season at the Garrick.

The production, which received its world premiere in 2012, at the Tricycle Theatre in north west London, is written by Lolita Chakrabarti and will be directed Indhu Rubasingham. It has previously been announced that Adrian Lester will reprise his role as Ira Aldridge.

Joining Lester will be: Ayesha Antoine (Connie), Simon Chandler (Bernard Warde/Terence), Alexander Cobb (Henry Forrester/Casimir), Mark Edel-Hunt (Charles Kean), Emun Elliott (Pierre Laporte), Charlotte Lucas (Ellen Tree), Caroline Martin (Halina Wozniak/Margaret Aldridge), Amy Morgan (Betty Lovell).

Synopsis: "Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, 1833. Edmund Kean, the greatest actor of his generation, has collapsed on stage whilst playing Othello. A young black American actor has been asked to take over the role. But as the public riot in the streets over the abolition of slavery, how will the cast, critics and audience react to the revolution taking place in the theatre?"

The plays that make up the inaugural seven play season of work for the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company are: The Winter's Tale, Harlequinade/All On Her Own, Red Velvet, The Painkiller, Romeo and Juliet and The Entertainer.