Joining Kevin Spacey in the cast will be Julian Glover, Ben Miles and Oliver Kieran-Jones. The show will begin previews Sept. 14 and open Oct. 4.

Spacey will play the title role, with Trevor Nunn directing. It will be Spacey’s first Shakespeare role in the U.K. He has previously played the Duke of Buckingham in Al Pacino’s “Looking for Richard” film (which featured substantial excerpts from Richard III). His first-ever acting role was as the messenger in one of the Henry VI plays at the 1981 New York Shakespeare Festival.

Responding to suggestions recently that he was expected to tackle the role of Richard III rather than the earlier monarch, Spacey told Playbill.com that he and Nunn “like to surprise people.” He did concede that he might play the other Richard at a later date.

Reviews have been mixed for the first Old Vic season to date. However, box office has been good, and Spacey is adamant that he’s in the job for the long haul.

Trevor Nunn’s return to the Old Vic will be his first since he directed Hamlet immediately prior to the hand-over to Spacey’s regime. His most recent London work has included Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Woman In White and Acorn Antiques — The Musical.