The production will run at the London Coliseum from the 3rd November.

It has been announced that this November Tony and Olivier Award-winning stage and screen actor and musician Richard McCabe will make his operatic debut in the English National Opera’s (ENO) first production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Yeomen of the Guard. He will be playing the role of of traveling jester Jack Point, the comic-baritone of the opera.

Richard is currently appearing in Anatomy of a Scandal (Netflix), The Pentaverate (Netflix), and has previously appeared in television programmes including A Very British Scandal (BBC), Harlots (Hulu-BBC), Wallander (BBC) and Peaky Blinders (BBC). His film credits include Eye in the Sky, Mindhorn, The Constant Gardener, Master and Commander and Notting Hill.

This will be the first time that the ENO will stage Gilbert & Sullivan’s operetta, which is one of the one of the last they created together.

Set within the Tower of London, the unjustly imprisoned Colonel Fairfax has a mutual attraction to Phoebe, the daughter of the righteous Sergeant Meryll, one of the titular Beefeaters. Phoebe wants Fairfax released so they can marry, and enlists the help of Jack Point and Elsie Maynard, roving entertainers. What follows is a complex caper of forbidden romances, fantastical plots and unrequited love, although not with the usual happy ending we might expect, as the stakes in this tale are far higher…

Talking about joining the production, Richard McCabe said: “I am absolutely thrilled and terrified to be taking on this iconic G&S role! I first visited the Coliseum with my school in 1974 and that evening sparked a lifelong love of opera. It is a dream come true to be treading its hallowed boards.”

He will be joined on stage by Anthony Gregory as Colonel Fairfax, Neal Davies as Sergeant Meryll of the Yeomen, Alexandra Oomens as Elsie Maynard, John Molloy as Wilfred Shadbolt, Heather Lowe as Phoebe Meryll, Steven Page as Sir Richard Cholmondeley, Susan Bickley as Dame Carruthers, Innocent Masuku as Leonard Meryll and Isabelle Peters as Kate.

This production is directed by Jo Davies, with designs by Anthony Ward, lighting by Oliver Fenwick, video by Andrezj Goulding, sound design by Nick Lidster and choreography by Kay Shepherd. Experienced Gilbert & Sullivan specialist Chris Hopkins leads the award-winning ENO Orchestra and Chorus.

The Yeomen of the Guard will play at the London Coliseum from the 3rd November until the 2nd December. You can book tickets here.