Al Murray is to star as King Charles II in a new period comedy.

The Crown Jewels will be staged in the West End from the beginning of July before embarking on a short national tour. Tickets are now on sale via crownjewelsplay.com

Penned by Simon Nye - creator of sitcoms including Men Behaving Badly, Is It Legal? and Beast - it is based on real events of the 17th Century.

Mel Giedroyc and Joe Thomas will also star, alongside stage favourite Carrie Hope Fletcher, Aidan McArdle and Tanvi Virmani.

Completing the central cast is Nye's Men Behaving Badly colleague, Neil Morrissey, whilst multi-Olivier Award winner Sean Foley will direct the show.

Promoters tease: "The Crown Jewels is a riotous new comedy based on the most unbelievable royal caper in British history. Charismatic and unpredictable Colonel Blood is planning the greatest heist of all time: stealing the Crown Jewels in plain sight. With a gang of misfits by his side, what could possibly go wrong? But Charles II can't afford a royal scandal, and no King likes people handling their Crown Jewels..."

Opening at the Garrick Theatre on 7th July, it will play until 16th September before touring to venues in Salford, Canterbury and Cardiff. The plot is based on Anglo-Irish officer and self-styled Colonel Thomas Blood's 1671 attempt to steal the English Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.

Simon Nye says: "I hope audiences will be as titillated and thrilled as I am at the prospect of a riotous comedy-drama about a crown jewels heist that really happened. True crime comes to the West End, 350 years after the event. The cast is an amazing array of comedy talent, and the subject matter absurdly topical. Satire, sword-fighting, love, violence, an examination of the monarchy and Anglo-Irish relations - could you ask for anything more?"

Sean Foley continues: "I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to direct Simon Nye's hilarious new play. An entirely modern take on the Restoration Comedy, it transports us to a completely different time - a time when England had a new king...whose name was Charles. I'm excited to be working with our brilliant cast, and we all hope to thoroughly entertain audiences in one of my favourite theatres - the Garrick - over this Coronation summer."

Producer Simon Friend adds: "The Crown Jewels came out of a mad idea that Simon Nye and I cooked up during lockdown, fantasising about shows we could make if theatres were to ever reopen. We're incredibly lucky that such a talented cast, with Sean as director, have gathered around for this hilarious play about a famous heist that went awry, and we look forward to bringing some laughter to the West End this summer."