'Speech' targets West End

SeidlerPlay is written by David Seidler, who won the original screenplay Oscar for the bigscreen version of his own unproduced original.Produced by Playful Prods. and Michael Alden Prods., the show is helmed by Adrian Noble, former a.d. of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and designed by Anthony Ward ("Enron," "Mary Stuart")."The King's Speech," the original play that inspired the Oscar-winning movie, will bow in the West End next spring following a U.K. tour.Title role will be played by Charles Edwards (London and Gotham's "The 39 Steps"), who recently starred opposite Eve Best in "Much Ado About Nothing" at Shakespeare's Globe. Jonathan Hyde will play Lionel Logue.The six-week tour commences Feb. 1 at Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theater, with the West End berth yet to be nailed down. Contact David Benedict at benedictdavid@mac.com