Brian Cox Leads U.S. Premiere of The Score at Shakespeare Theatre Company
Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) has announced the cast of The Score, led by Brian Cox. The company, also featuring Cox's wife, Nicole Ansari-Cox, reunites the original West End cast of the production for the U.S. premiere, coming to Washington, DC, this September. Rehearsals begin next week in the UK, with the play starting previews at STC's Harman Hall on Friday, September 11, and officially opening on Wednesday, September 16.
Written by Oliver Cotton and directed by Trevor Nunn (Les Miserables, Cats), The Score features award-winning actor Cox as Johann Sebastian Bach and Ansari-Cox as Bach's wife, Anna, in a story that pits creativity against the whims of power. Cox and Ansari-Cox have appeared in several works together, including under Nunn's direction in the West End and Broadway productions of Rock 'n' Roll by Tom Stoppard.
Brian Cox's career has spanned more than six decades, with stage and screen roles earning him two Olivier Awards, a Golden Globe Award for his role in the HBO hit Succession, and an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Hermann Goering in the TV film Nuremberg. Nicole Ansari-Cox has starred on stage and screen in the UK and U.S., including in the film Just Play Dead, and on the West End and Broadway.
In The Score, it's spring 1747, and Bach has been summoned to the court of Frederick II, Europe's most ambitious and dangerous leader. When the king presents Bach with a musical puzzle, the composer must confront how to rise to the challenge without forsaking his own morality.
Stephen Hagan returns to the role of the war-mongering King Frederick, set to put Bach to the ultimate musical test, and who engages him in a battle of wits and moral absolutes. Jamie Wilkes plays the role of Bach's son, Carl, a composer in the court of Frederick, who walks the dangerous line of loyalty to soul versus king. He is joined by Christopher Staines, Toby Webster, and Matthew Romain as fellow court composers and musicians, Quantz, Benda, and Graun, respectively.
Rounding out the cast from the West End production are Juliet Garricks as Emilia; Peter De Jersey as philosopher and friend to Bach, Voltaire; and ensemble members and understudies Geoffrey Towers, Will Kerr, and Jordan Kilshaw.
The company also features two new actors to the ensemble, Claire Morrissey and Max Pink. Full cast and creatives are listed below.
In addition to Nunn and Cotton, the original creative team for the production are: Robert Jones, Set and Costume Designer; Johanna Town, Lighting Designer; and Sophie Cotton, Sound Designer and Additional Composition.
The Score runs September 11-October 18, 2026, in Shakespeare Theatre Company's Harman Hall, 610 F St NW, Washington, DC.