Prolific Shakespearean actor Michael Pennington to take part in Literary Leicester

Eminent stage actor, writer and director Michael Pennington will be delivering a talk and Q&A at our Literary Leicester festival on 16 November.

Renowned for his performance as King Lear in New York 2014, Michael reprised the role for a major UK tour in 2016. He has played many leading roles for the RSC, of which he is an Honorary Associate Artist. His impressive stage career runs alongside a variety of screen roles, which have included 'commander of the second Death Star' in Return of the Jedi and Michael Foot in The Iron Lady.

For this event, which will run from 7.45-8-45 pm in the University of Leicester’s Peter Williams Lecture Theatre, Michael will share his experiences of playing King Lear and touring the play- reading from his book King Lear in Brooklyn and hosting a Q & A.

Professor Martin Stannard, Literary Leicester’s Director, said: “This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in the craft of acting generally, and in Shakespeare in particular. Michael is a distinguished member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and a celebrated film and TV actor. As it happens, he will be following in the programme another eminent Shakespeare scholar, Jonathan Bate. A good evening all round for bardolaters!”