Actor Keisuke Koide has landed the starring role in his first theater performance, a production of William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" directed by Yukio Ninagawa. Koide will play the part of Benedick.

The play is the 20th production in the "Sai-no-Kuni Shakespeare Series." Like three of the previous ones, this version employs only male actors for the cast. The rest of the cast features Issei Takahashi as Beatrice, Hiroki Hasegawa as Claudio, and Yuki Tsukikawa as Hero.

Koide first met with the director during filming for the movie "Kisaragi." His co-star Shun Oguri had previously worked with Ninagawa, and Oguri arranged for the two to meet. After Ninagawa watched the film, he became interested in working with Koide, and he finally offered the actor the lead in "Much Ado About Nothing."

Performances will be held at the Sai-no-Kuni Saitama Arts Theater from October 7 to 23. Additional performances are scheduled for Niigata, Nagoya, and Osaka.