Two-time Tony nominee Helen Mirren will play Elizabeth II in a London reading of Peter Morgan’s new play The Audience, according to the New York Post. No director has been set, although Morgan reportedly hopes Stephen Daldry will helm the reading. Following the reading, The Audience hopes to run in London and transfer to Broadway in spring of 2013.
The Audience follows the reign of Queen Elizabeth II from 1952 to the Diamond Jubilee in 2012. Morgan wrote the screenplay for the hit 2006 film The Queen, which also starred Mirren as Elizabeth II. Mirren won an Academy Award for her portrayal of the Queen of England.
Mirren earned Tony nominations for A Month in the Country and Dance of Death. Mirren’s London theater credits include Teeth ‘n’ Smiles, The Seagull, Henry VI, The Roaring Girl, Two Way Mirror and Some Kind of Love Story. Her film and TV credits include The Debt, Excalibur, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Frasier and a cameo as Becky’s Inner Voice on Glee.