‘The King’s Speech’ to wrap its West End run early

“The King’s Speech�will end its West End reign early. The play, which was slated to run at Wyndham’s Theatre through July 21, will wrap May 12.

The play has suffered poor ticket sales, and producers claim that the staged version came too close to the 2011 Oscar-winning film of the same name, starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush.

Producers said in a statement that, “Two years ago, originating producer Michael Alden was ready to put the play on and the film came along and blocked its path. At the start of this year, we believed that enough time had passed between the film and our opening. This clearly was not the case.

“We are extremely proud of what we have accomplished. It is a production of genuine quality that has been critically and publicly acclaimed across the board.�

The drama based on King George VI’s reluctant rise to the throne as he battled a speech impediment won four Academy awards, including best picture and actor for Firth.

Former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company Adrian Noble (who is artistic director of San Diego’s Old Globe Summer Shakespeare Festival) directed the stage version that starred Charles Edwards as King George VI, Jonathan Hyde as Lionel Logue and Emma Fielding as Queen Elizabeth.

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