Mark Rylance Returns to new York

Following a sell out run in London, Claire van Kampen's courtly drama transfers to New York with Oscar and three-time Tony winner Mark Rylance. He stars as the reclusive King Phillipe V of Spain, whose deep melancholia was kept at bay for the last nine years of his life by the presence of a famed Italian castrato. Taking this curious historical footnote as its inspiration, Farinelli and the King weaves an understated and perceptive portrait of an unlikely companionship, one that provides yet another prime role for Rylance.

One of Modern Theatre's Greats

Former Artistic Director of The Globe in London, Mark Rylance is considered one of the finest stage actors in the world. On this side of the Atlantic, he's won three Tony Awards for Boeing, Boeing, Jeruselum and Twlefth Night. In recent years he's become an ever more prominent presence on our screens as well, with show-stealing turns in the BBC mini series Wolf Hall, Christopher Nolan's war epic Dunkirk, and his Oscar-winning portrayal of a Russian spy in Bridge of Spies.

WHAT IS FARINELLI AND THE KING ABOUT?

King Phillipe V of Spain suffers from severe insomnia, which is causing him and his wife great distress. Desperate to help her ailing husband, the Queen sends for the famed castrato Farinelli, whose legendary voice has been likened to that of an angel.

Astounded and cheered by the extraordinary singer, Philippe invites Farinelli to stay with him at court, in order to keep away his existential funk. In turn, Farinelli finds solace away from the opera houses and crushing celebrity that follows him everywhere. But ultimately, will he be content to remain in the shadows at the bedside of a king, or will fame and glory tempt him back into the limelight?