Charlie Cox leads the world premiere of “The King’s Ransom” at Donmar Warehouse

Charlie Cox, the well-known star of the series “Daredevil” and “Boardwalk Empire”, will return to the stage of London’s Donmar Warehouse to lead the world premiere of the new play “The King’s Ransom”, as BroadwayWorld reports.

The play, written by Stuart Slade and directed by Matthew Dunster, begins with a plot that seems taken from an absurd film: the kidnapping of Elvis Presley’s corpse, putting it in a freezer and demanding a ransom of one million dollars.

The action is set in Memphis in 1977, where an enigmatic criminal offers small-time thief Vince Black the chance of a lifetime — to take the body of the “King of Rock’n’Roll”. Cox will play the role of Vince, in a cast that includes Tom Fletcher as Charlie, Blake Harrison as Rusty, Jenny Rainsford as Rhonda/Jenny and Christopher Short in the role of Elvis himself. The role of Martha will be shared among three actresses: Ruby Barker, Eira Kay and Trixie Willis.

Inspired by one of the strangest crime stories in American history, “The King’s Ransom” is described as a dark “Southern” comedy about grief, redemption and spectacularly wrong decisions — a story about the little people looking for one last chance at the “American dream”.

For Cox, this is his second return to Donmar Warehouse, where he previously performed in “The Prince of Homburg”. Director Matthew Dunster, a four-time Olivier Award nominee, also directed “Hangmen” on Broadway, which was nominated for five Tony Awards.

The play begins previews on 5 December and opens officially on 16 December, running until 6 February 2027.