Tom Hiddleston & Hayley Atwell to Lead Jamie Lloyd's 'Much Ado About Nothing' in London's West End

It's not a secret that London has some of the best theater in the world. with over 200 venues across the city. (Around 40 of them are in its famous West End, for those who were curious.) With some of the biggest performers in the world regularly taking to the stage, the London theater scene offers a rare opportunity to see onscreen favorites perform works from some of the world's best playwrights. Not to mention the fact that it gives Anglophiles great reasons to plan regular trips to the U.K. 

This Fall, three different stars from Doctor Who will be treading the boards in leading roles, and Bridgerton heartthrob Jonathan Bailey is tackling Richard II beginning in February. But now, thanks to Olivier Award-winning director Jamie Lloyd, you'll be able to see two big-name British stars together on the same stage. 

Lloyd's eponymous theater company, The Jamie Lloyd Company, has set its upcoming season at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, which will see Tom Hiddleston (The Night Manager) and Hayley Atwell (Howards End) lead a new production of Much Ado About Nothing. 

Shakespeare's beloved comedy has drawn many famous pairings to play its bickering central couple of Beatrice and Benedick, from Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh in the 1993 film to David Tennant (Good Omens) and Catherine Tate (Queen of Oz) in the famous 2001 Wyndham's Theatre production. Hiddleston and Atwell, despite both being mainstays in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, have never really shared the screen in the past. 

Hiddleston previously worked with Lloyd in the 2019 Broadway revival of Betrayal. The director, who is known for his minimalist staging and expressionist style, has also recently produced The Seagull with Emillia Clarke (Game of Thrones) in 2021, the Brooklyn Academy of Music's production of Cyrano de Bergerac with James McAvoy (His Dark Materials) in 2022, and the Broadway revival of A Doll's House starring Jessica Chastain (The Good Nurse) in 2023. His critically acclaimed London revival of Sunset Boulevard is Broadway-bound later this year, and his current take on Romeo and Juliet, starring Tom Holland (Spider-Man: No Way Home) is nearing the end of its sold-out run. 

The Jamie Lloyd Company's Shakespeare season will also include a new take on The Tempest, with Sigourney Weaver (Aliens) making her West End debut as the sorcerer Prospero. 

"Working with Jamie Lloyd on Harold Pinter’s Betrayal was one of the most fulfilling and meaningful experiences of my performing life" Hiddleston said in a statement. "I could not be more thrilled to have been given the opportunity to collaborate with him again, this time on one of Shakespeare’s most warm-hearted and joyful plays: Much Ado About Nothing. It’s an honor to have been invited by Andrew Lloyd Webber to bring Shakespeare back to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, in a season alongside Sigourney Weaver in The Tempest, and to be working with the great Hayley Atwell for the first time.”

The historic Theatre Royal Drury Lane is the oldest theater site in London, having stood at its current location since 1663. The present building in Covent Garden was opened in 1812 and is currently owned by none other than Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lloyd's two forthcoming shows will mark the first Shakespeare performed at Drury Lane since Peter Brook's production of The Tempest with John Gielgud in 1957.

Much Ado About Nothing will play a strictly limited eight-week run, with previews beginning on February 10, 2025.