STARGREEN - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Director / Arthur Gosport

Born in London in 1986, Emilia Clarke is a British actress who is best known for starring as the ‘Mother of Dragons' Daenerys Targaryen in HBO's Game of Thrones. Away from the fantasy world of Westeros, she has become a well-known actress worldwide, with Time Magazine naming Clarke as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Growing up in Oxfordshire, Clarke was introduced to the stage from an early age, with her father working as a sound engineer, watching a production of Show Boat when she was three years old. Sparking an interest in performing, Clarke spent her childhood growing up in the theatre, starring in productions at St Edward's School in Oxford, where she was educated. When it came to applying for drama school, Clarke was not immediately successful. Rejected from RADA, LAMDA and Guildhall, she was eventually accepted into Drama Centre London. While in drama school, Clarke appeared in a production of Sense with American theatre company, Company of Angels, later graduating from Drama Centre London in 2009. Clarke's breakthrough role came in 2011, when she was cast in the HBO series Game of Thrones as Daenerys Targaryen, quickly becoming an overnight success. Appearing in all eight seasons from 2011-2019, she received three Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series, as well as a Saturn Award for Best Actress in Television. In 2013, Clarke made her Broadway debut in a revival of Breakfast at Tiffany's at the Cort Theatre for a limited run in 2013. She starred as Holly Golightly, alongside Cory Michael Smith and George Wendt. Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) makes her West End debut as Nina in Anya Reiss' unique 21st century modernisation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, with direction by Jamie Lloyd. Starring alongside Clarke will be Tom Rhys Harries (White Lines), Daniel Monks (The Normal Heart), Sophie Wu (Fresh Meat) and Indira Varma (Game of Thrones).

Job Titles:

• Director / Arthur Gosport
• Director / Leontes

Judi Dench was born in 1934 in North Yorkshire. She attended the York School of Art, however she quickly changed courses and moved to the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art in London. Early in her career, Dench performed in a number of Shakespeare plays, with her debut role with the Old Vic Company in 1957. She had roles in Hamlet as Ophelia, as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth. It wasn't until the 1960s that Dench was brought into film. She earned her first BAFTA award for her role in Four in the Morning in 1965. Yet, it was theatre in which she concentrated over the next two decades, with films coming along every so often. Outside of the theatre, she is perhaps best known for her role as M in the James Bond movies, starting with Goldeneye in 1995 right up until Skyfall in 2012. Her first leading movie role came in 1997, as Queen Victoria in the biographic film Mrs Brown, for which she won an Oscar nomination. Some of her other notable movies include Chocolat, Mrs Henderson Presents and Notes on a Scandal. In 2006, she returned the theatre work, with a role in Hay Fever, as well as The Merry Wives of Windsor with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the same year. In 2009, he played Madame de Montruil in Madame de Sade at the Wyndham's Theatre. In 2010, she performed alongside Peter Hall in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Rose Theatre. More recently, she has starred in Peter and Alice at the Noel Coward Theatre and The Vote at the Donmar Warehouse. Read a review of The Vote starring Judi Dench here. To get ticket alerts productions featuring Judi Dench, and other West End shows, join our newsletter.

Born in Suffolk in 1962, Ralph Fiennes wasn't originally going to be an actor. He studied painting at Chelsea College of Art, but then trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1985. He began his career as an actor at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and the National Theatre, before working with the Royal Shakespeare Company. After his various roles in the RSC, he has since performed in Man and Superman at the National Theatre and The Play What I Wrote, directed by Kenneth Branagh. He has also played many classic roles including Oepidus the King in the same-named show at the National Theatre and Mark Antony in Julius Caesar. Fiennes is perhaps best known for his role as Lord Voldemort in J.K Rowling's Harry Potter film series. On screen, he's also been in Skyfall and The Grand Budapest Hotel and Schindler's List. In 2016 Fiennes returned to the stage in the titular role in Richard III at the Almeida Theatre, opposite Vanessa Redgrave as Queen Margaret. He's also starred in the one-man play Four Quartets at the Harold Pinter Theatre, which ran for a month. He then played Robert Moses in Straight Line Crazy at the Bridge Theatre.

Sir Kenneth Branagh was born in 1960 in Belfast. After having moved to England with his family, he studied in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His performances on stage immediately after leaving RADA were met with critical acclaim, and he had won his first award by 1982. After appearing in a number of successful productions, he founded the Renaissance Theatre Company alongside David Parfitt in 1987. The company enjoyed success with a number of productions. The company later produced a number of Shakespeare plays with the likes of Derek Jacobi and Judi Dench amongst the directors. In 2008, Branagh starred in Ivanov at the Donmar Warehouse, winning the Best Male Performance award from the Critics' Circle Theatre. After working on anumber of performances as both actor and director, he formed the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company in 2015 as actor-manager. The company hosted a number of shows including The Entertainer, Romeo and Juliet and Red Velvet. Outside of theatre work, he is known for his roles in a number of television series and films, such as Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as the charming professor Gilderoy Lockhart and The Boat That Rocked. He has also directed blockbuster movies Thor and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. To get ticket alerts productions featuring Kenneth Branagh, and other West End shows, join our newsletter.