'King's Speech' play to open in West End

LONDON, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- A stage version of the Oscar-winning film "The King's Speech" is to open in London's West End next month, producers said.

The play penned by the film's Academy Award-winning screenwriter David Seidler has been touring the United Kingdom with Jonathan Hyde and Charles Edwards in the lead roles of Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue and his stammering client, British King George VI, The Daily Telegraph said.

The roles were played by Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth, who won an Oscar for his performance, in the 2010 film.

The Telegraph said the play, due to open at Wyndham's Theatre March 22, has been earning rave reviews.

"The fact that so many people have seen the film might preclude them from wanting to go and see the play, I understand that. On the other hand, the fact that there's such a bank of goodwill means there's a lot of interest. They're two different animals, albeit closely related," Seidler said, noting he wrote "The King's Speech" first as a play, then as a film script when he couldn't get it produced.