Actor ‘thrilled’ to take stage role after prediction from playwright

SIR Kenneth Branagh said he was “thrilled” to take to the stage in the title role of The Entertainer, more than a quarter of a century after its writer predicted he would play the part.

The actor said John Osborne’s play about washed-up music hall performer Archie Rice, a role made famous by Sir Laurence Olivier, was a “populist” look at “art, politics and people”.

He said: “It also has a personal dimension for me. At the opening night of our production of Look Back In Anger, in August 1989, John Osborne said to me, ‘I hope you get the chance to play Archie Rice one day — he’ll keep you on your toes’.

“I’m thrilled to have got the chance, and the author was certainly right.”

The show, seventh in a season of work by Sir Kenneth’s company at The Garrick, also stars Greta Scacchi, Gawn Grainger and Downton Abbey actress Sophie McShera.

The play runs until November 12 with a live cinema broadcast on October 27. Sir Kenneth said he could not “quite believe” they had reached the end of the season. He added: “Our audiences have been fantastic — diverse, passionate, and wonderfully supportive.

“The other consistent feature has been the quality of the actors we’ve had the privilege to work with. In The Entertainer Greta Scacchi and Gawn Grainger lead an exciting group of young actors with style and grace.”