FORTHCOMING PRODUCTIONS
LONDON
WEST END (LARGE THEATRES)
BEDROOM FARCE – Duke of York’s
Theatre; SWEET CHARITY
– Theatre Royal, Haymarket; L A B Ê T
E – Comedy Theatre;
ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIR – Garrick Theatre; MRS. WARREN’S
PROFESSION – Comedy Theatre; HAIR – Gielgud
Theatre;
REGENT'S PARK OPEN AIR THEATRE (The
New Shakespeare Company) - (2010 season)
(to find a specific production use the "find/search" facility
on your Internet server, and enter the title or Theatre)
BEDROOM
FARCE
By Alan Ayckbourn; Directed by Peter
Hall
Duke
of York’s Theatre, St Martin's Lane London WC2N 4BG
From
24 March 2010
Bedroom Farce opens at
London’s Duke of York’s Theatre on 24 March for strictly limited 14
week season.
“Irresistibly
funny….”The Independent Oct 2009
Peter
Hall’s production of Bedroom Farce, one of
Ayckbourn’s best loved works, opened to critical acclaim at the Rose
Theatre in Kingston last year and now transfers to the West End. Hall first
directed Bedroom Farce at the National Theatre in 1977.
Four
couples, three bedrooms, two celebrations, one blazing row and an illicit kiss
(or two). Alan Ayckbourn’s ingenious comedy shines a brilliant spotlight
onto the trials and tribulations of suburban marriage.
Trevor
and Susannah have a problem relationship which requires urgent attention. What
better solution than to talk it over with family and friends? Preferably in
their respective bedrooms and ideally in the middle of the night. Inevitably,
one problem relationship tends to spark off another. When you have friends like
Trevor and Susannah, nobody gets much sleep.
“Reduces
the audience to blissful tears of laughter……..”
The Telegraph Oct 2009
Bedroom Farce
features a well known cast, including Daniel Betts, whose TV credits
include Law & Order UK, The Bill and Holby City; Sara
Crowe, recently seen in the smash hit Calendar Girls at the Noel
Coward Theatre; Tony Gardner, well known from the award winning ITV
series My Parents Are Aliens and Jack Dee’s hit BBC sitcom Lead
Balloon; David Horovitch, who rose to fame in Agatha
Christie’s Miss Marple and recently appeared in Ayckbourn’s
West End comedy hit Absurd Person Singular; Rachel Pickup whose
theatre credits include Peter Hall’s Princess of France and 39
Steps; Jenny Seagrove, one of the West
End’s most prolific and respected actresses recently seen alongside David
Horovitch in Absurd Person Singular and in the West End premier of A
Daughter’s A Daughter and known to millions as barrister Jo Mills in
the BBC’s flagship drama series Judge John Deed; Orlando Seale
a regular in BBC medical drama Casualty; and Finty Williams, who
starred in the multi-award winning BBC period drama Cranford and
appeared in hit comedy Chiltern Hundreds at the Vaudeville Theatre.
TAMZIN
OUTHWAITE LEADS CAST IN WEST END TRANSFER OF
MENIER
CHOCOLATE FACTORY’S
S W E E
T C H A R I T Y
Tamzin Outhwaite, who plays the title
role of Charity Hope Valentine, will lead the cast in the West End transfer of
the Tony Award-winning musical, Sweet Charity. Matthew
White’s production of Sweet Charity, which ends its sell-out run
at the Menier Chocolate Factory on 7 March 2010, will open at the Theatre Royal
Haymarket on 23 April 2010 with press night on 4 May and is currently booking
until 8 January 2011. Further casting will be announced shortly.
With book by Neil Simon, music by Cy
Coleman and lyrics by Dorothy Fields, choreography is by Stephen Mear, set design by Tim
Shortall, costume design by Matthew Wright, musical supervision
and direction by Nigel Lilley, orchestrations by Chris Walker, lighting by
David Howe and sound design by Gareth Owen. The Menier Chocolate
Factory’s Sweet Charity is produced in the West End by Chocolate
Factory Productions, David Ian Productions, the Theatre Royal Haymarket
Productions and David Mirvish.
Sweet Charity follows the
misadventures of love encountered by the gullible and guileless Charity Hope Valentine,
a woman who always gives her heart and her dreams to the wrong man. Cy
Coleman’s score features favourite hits such as Hey, Big Spender; If My
Friends Could See Me Now and The Rhythm of Life.
Tamzin Outhwaite’s previous
stage credits include Matthew Warchus’ critically acclaimed production of
Boeing-Boeing at the Comedy Theatre, Breathing Corpses and Flesh
Wound for the Royal Court, Oliver at the London Palladium and Baby
on Board, Absent Friends and They’re Playing Our Song, all for
Alan Ayckbourn at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough. She is known
on television for her roles in Red Cap, Hustle, Frances Tuesday, Hotel
Babylon and EastEnders. She can currently be seen in the ITV1
drama The Fixer and will also shortly be seen in the new BBC One drama Paradox.
Her film work includes Cassandra’s Dream by Woody Allen
co-starring Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell, Back Waters and the
award-winning Out of Control.
Originally directed and
choreographed by Bob Fosse, Sweet Charity premiered on Broadway at the
Palace Theatre in 1966, where it ran for over 600 performances. The
production won the Tony Award for Best Choreography in the same year. In
1967 the production opened in London at Prince of Wales Theatre, starring
Juliet Prowse. The 1969 film version also directed and
choreographed by Fosse, starred Shirley MacLaine and John McMartin. In 1986 the
production was revived on Broadway winning four Tony Awards, and again in 2005
starring Christina Applegate.
Playwright and screen
writer Neil Simon’s career has spanned more than five decades during
which he has written over 30 plays and 20 screen plays. His first
Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, opened in 1961. Shortly after,
his second production, Little Me, earned him his first Tony Award
nomination. In 1966 Simon had four shows running on
Broadway at the same time - Sweet Charity, The Star-Spangled Girl,
The Odd Couple and Barefoot in the Park. He has won three Tony
Awards - Best Author for The Odd Couple, Best Play for Biloxi Blues
and Best Play for Lost in Yonkers - and been nominated for
seventeen. Simon has also won an Evening Standard Award for Barefoot
in the Park, the Golden Globe for Best Motion Screenplay for The Goodbye
Girl and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Lost In Yonkers.
Cy Coleman (1929 – 2004) is the only composer to win consecutive Tony
Awards for Best Score for musicals which also won for Best Musical: City
of Angels (1990) and The Will Rogers Follies (1991). He also
won the Tony Award for Best Original Score for On the Twentieth Century
in 1978. He received two Emmy Awards for his work on Shirley
MacLaine’s TV specials, If My Friends Could See Me Now (1974) and Gypsy
in My Soul (1976). In 1992 he won two Grammy Awards for his score and
for producing the original cast album of The Will Rogers Follies. Coleman was the last
major contributor to the Great American Songbook.
Dorothy Fields (1905
– 1974) wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. From 1928
to 1935 she worked with Jimmy McHugh producing songs such as I Can’t
Give You Anything but Love, Baby; Exactly Like You and On the Sunny Side
of the Street. In the 1930’s she collaborated with Jerome Kern
on the film Swing Time, winning the Academy Award for Best Song in 1936
for The Way You Look Tonight. In the 1940’s she teamed
up with her brother Herbert Fields with whom she wrote books for three Cole
Porter shows, as well as the book for Annie Get Your Gun. She
collaborated with Cy Coleman on Sweet Charity and Seesaw.
Sweet Charity is based on the original screenplay
for Nights of Cabiria by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio
Plaiano.
Most recently the Menier
Chocolate Factory has transferred A Little Night Music and La Cage
Aux Folles to the West End, the former is currently playing on Broadway
with Catherine Zeta Jones, Angela Lansbury and Alexander Hanson, the latter
will open at the Longacre Theatre in April with Kelsey Grammer and Douglas
Hodge in the leading roles.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
SWEET CHARITY
Dates:
23 April 2010 – 8 January 2011
Press
Night:
4 May at 7pm
Performances:
Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm
Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm
Christmas schedule to be announced
Theatre:
Theatre Royal Haymarket, Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4HT
Tickets:
£17.50 - £55.00
Preview prices £17.50 - £45.00
Day
Seats - a limited number day seats at £20 will go on sale on the day of
performance at 10am and can purchased from the Theatre Royal Haymarket Box
Office in person
All
ticket prices are subject to an additional £1 theatre restoration levy
Box Office:
0845 481 1870
Website:
www.sweetcharitywestend.com
www.trh.co.uk
L A
B Ê T E
A COMEDY OF TRANSATLANTIC
PROPORTIONS
STARRING MARK RYLANCE,
DAVID HYDE PIERCE AND JOANNA LUMLEY
DIRECTED BY MATTHEW WARCHUS
TO PLAY IN THE WEST END AND
ON BROADWAY
Booking opens today (16 February 2010) in London for Matthew
Warchus’ production of David Hirson’s La
Bête starring Mark Rylance, David Hyde Pierce and
Joanna Lumley. La Bête will preview from 26 June at the
Comedy Theatre in the West End, playing until 28 August, with press night on 7
July. The production will then immediately transfer to Broadway, to a
Shubert Theatre to be announced shortly, along with specific dates. La
Bête, produced in London and New York by Sonia Friedman Productions
& Scott Landis, Roger Berlind, Robert Bartner and Roy Furman, is designed
by Mark Thompson, with lighting by Hugh Vanstone, music by Claire van Kampen
and sound by Simon Baker. Further casting will be announced shortly.
American playwright David Hirson’s rollicking
1991 play, La Bête, is a comic tour de force about Elomire
(Pierce), a high-minded classical dramatist who loves only the theatre, and
Valere (Rylance), a low-brow street clown who loves only himself. When the
fickle princess (Lumley) decides she’s grown weary of Elomire’s
royal theatre troupe, he and Valere are left fighting for survival as art
squares off with ego in a literary showdown for the ages.
Internationally
award-winning actor Mark Rylance (Valere) can currently be seen in
London at the Apollo Theatre in Jerusalem for which his
critically-acclaimed performance has won him the Critics’ Circle and
Evening Standard Best Actor awards as well as a nomination for the forthcoming
Laurence Olivier Awards. Previously he played Hamm in Samuel
Beckett’s Endgame at the Duchess Theatre in London. In
2007/08 Rylance played Robert in Boeing-Boeing in the West End and on
Broadway, a role for which he won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a
Leading Actor in a Play. As Artistic Director of Shakespeare's Globe
Theatre his work as an actor included the title roles in Henry V and Hamlet
as well as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra and Olivia in Twelfth
Night. His other theatre work includes many productions for the Royal
Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre as well as roles at the Donmar
Warehouse and the Royal Court. In the West End he played Benedict in Much
Ado about Nothing directed by Matthew Warchus, for which he won the Olivier
Award for Best Actor. His film and television work includes The Other
Boleyn Girl, Prospero’s Books and The Government Inspector for
which he won the BAFTA Best Actor Award for his role as David Kelly.
Best known for
his performance as Dr Niles Crane in the multi award-winning American sitcom
Frasier, Tony and four-time Emmy award-winning David Hyde Pierce (Elomire)
will make his West End stage debut in La Bête.
On Broadway he starred in Curtains, for which he won the Tony
Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, and he originated
the role of Brave Sir Robin in Monty Python’s Spamalot. He
created roles in the Off-Broadway and regional productions of Mark O'Donnell's That's
it Folks!, Richard Greenberg's The Author's Voice and The
Maderati, Harry Kondoleon's Zero Positive, Jules Feiffer's Elliot
Loves and Richard Alfieri’s Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks.
His other stage credits include appearances in Hamlet and Much Ado
at the New York Shakespeare Festival, Holiday and Camille at the
Long Wharf Theatre, The Seagull, Tartuffe, Cyrano, and Midsummer
Night's Dream at the Guthrie Theatre, and Peter Brook's production of The
Cherry Orchard in New York, Moscow, Leningrad, and Tokyo. His film
credits include Bright Lights, Big City, Crossing Delancey,
Little Man Tate, Sleepless in Seattle, Wolf, Nixon,
Isn't She Great, Wet, Hot, American Summer, Full
Frontal, Down With Love, A Bug's Life, Osmosis Jones Treasure
Planet, and the recent Sundance Film Festival Selection The
Perfect Host.
Comedienne and
actress Joanna Lumley (Princess Conti) is best known for playing Patsy
Stone in the award-winning BBC television series, Absolutely Fabulous.
Previously her television appearances included Purdy in The New Avengers
as well as major roles in Sapphire and Steel, Jam and Jerusalem and Sensitive
Skin. Lumley will make her Broadway debut in La Bête
having previously been seen on stage in the UK as Madame Ranevsky in The
Cherry Orchard for Sheffield Theatres, as Gertrude Lawrence in Noel and
Gertie for the King’s Head, Elvira in Blithe Spirit at the Vaudeville
Theatre, as well as roles in The Letter for the Lyric Hammersmith, the
title role in Hedda Gabler, The Cherry Orchard and Private
Lives all for Dundee Rep. Her other screen appearances include Shirley
Valentine, Trail of the Pink Panther and Curse of the Pink Panther
and, more recently, she starred opposite Ben Kingsley as Mrs Lovett in The
Tale of Sweeney Todd, Mad Cows, Maybe Baby and she was the voice of
Aunt Spiker in James and the Giant Peach. Author of several
best-selling books and human rights and animal welfare activist, Lumley
recently headed a successful campaign in recognition of the Gurkhas.
Lumley was awarded an OBE in 1995.
International Theatre Director Matthew Warchus’ many
award-winning theatre credits include The Norman Conquests, Boeing-Boeing,
God of Carnage, Art and Follies, all of which he directed in the
West End and on Broadway. Warchus has directed many productions for the
National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic and the Donmar
Warehouse as well as the following musicals - Tell Me on a Sunday, Our House
and The Lord of the Rings. Warchus will direct a new musical
version of the children’s story Matilda for the Royal Shakespeare Company
later this year and next year plans are underway for him to direct Ghost,
a musical of the Academy Award-winning
film.
David Hirson was born in New York City and was educated at Yale and Oxford. He
is the author of two plays for the theatre, La Bête (1991) and Wrong
Mountain (2000), both of which have been produced on Broadway. He has
received numerous honours for his work, including the 1992 Laurence Olivier
Award for Best Comedy. The original Broadway production of La Bête
was nominated for five Tony awards in 1991. A collected edition of his
plays is published by Grove Press. He is currently working on a new
version of Die Fledermaus for the Metropolitan Opera.
Listings information
La Bête
London
Dates:
26 June – 28 August 2010
Press
Night:
7 July at 7pm
Theatre:
Comedy Theatre, Panton Street, SW1
Performance schedule: Monday – Saturday at
7.30pm
Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm
Nb there are no matinee performances on
30 June and 7 July
Box
Office:
0844 871 7622
Ticket
prices:
£15 - £50
Previews £5 off all prices
Website:
www.labetetheplay.com
CHRISTOPHER TIMOTHY AND LOUISE ENGLISH
JOIN THE CAST OF
DAVID ESSEX AND JON CONWAY’S
A L L T H
E F U N O F T H E F
A I R
Christopher
Timothy and Louise English join David Essex in the cast of All
the Fun of the Fair which previews from 20 April at London’s
Garrick Theatre, with press night on 28 April and is running until 5 September
2010. David Essex plays Levi Lee, the owner of a fading fun fair,
and the leading role of his son Jack, will be played by Michael Pickering.
All the Fun of
the Fair features music from David Essex’s extensive catalogue, with
book written by Jon Conway and is directed by David Gilmore. New
set and costume designs are by Ian Westbrook with lighting by Ben Cracknell and
sound by Steve Jonas. All the Fun of the Fair is produced in the
West End by Alan Darlow, Jon Conway and Lee Dean, following a hugely successful
nationwide tour.
The full cast is
David Essex (Levi), Christopher Timothy (Harvey), Louise English (Rosa),
Michael Pickering (Jack), Nicola Brazil (Alice), Cameron Jack (Druid), Susan
Hallam-Wright (Mary), Chris Holland (Kipper), Kieran Jae (Scotty), Tom Kanavan
(Spiv), Tim Newman (Slow Jonny), Robert Rees (Chris), Emily Tierney (Sally),
Tricia Adele Turner (Laura), Shona White (Rita) and Danielle York (Maisy).
Inspired by one
of his most successful albums, All the Fun of the Fair, David Essex plays Levi
Lee, recently widowed and father of a rebellious teenage son. Danger and
mysticism lurk in the future as predicted by the gypsy fortune teller who is in
love with Levi. Dodgems and motorbikes, crafty cons and candy floss,
fairground horses and fights, along with unrequited love, romance and rock and
roll bring out the carnival atmosphere in this underbelly world of fairground
life.
The musical drama
features a soundtrack of Essex’s most well-known songs which he re-wrote
and arranged specifically for this production. These include Winter’s
Tale, Hold Me Close, Me And My Girl (Nightclubbing), Silver Dream Machine,
Gonna Make You A Star, Rock On and the title track, All the Fun of the Fair. The
sound track of All the Fun of the Fair will be re-released by Universal
in April to coincide with the opening of the show.
Though
best known as a recording artist, David Essex first came to prominence
in musical theatre, starring as Jesus in the original West End production of Godspell
in 1972 and Che in Evita in 1978. Since then Essex has combined
stage work with his hugely successful recording career, making stage
appearances over the years in Sir Peter Hall’s She Stoops To Conquer
at the Queen’s Theatre, Footloose The Musical at the Novello
Theatre and most recently a national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects
of Love. He also co-wrote and starred in the original musical Mutiny!
which played at the Piccadilly Theatre in 1985.
Christopher
Timothy is best known on television for playing
James Herriot in the long running Series All Creatures Great And Small
and more recently his performance as Mac McGuire in the BBC drama series Doctors.
His extensive theatre credits include Pa Joad in the Chichester Festival
Theatre production of The Grapes of Wrath, Sprule in Alan
Ayckbourn’s Tons of Money, Henry Windscape in Simon Gray’s Quartermaine’s
Terms, David Bliss in Sir Peter Hall’s production of Noel
Coward’s Hayfever as well as guest appearances in The Play What
I Wrote. In the West End his other credits include Underneath
the Arches, Journey’s End, The Actor’s Nightmare, See
How They Run and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Other
more recent television appearances include Casualty, Holby City and The
Bill. His film credits include Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush,
Othello, Eskimo Nell, Alfred the Great and The Virgin
Soldiers. Christopher Timothy is currently recording a new series of the
original James Herriot novels for CD Audio Book release.
Louise English’s many
musical stage credits include roles in Hello Dolly!, Annie and
Oliver. She played Sally in Me and My Girl at the Adelphi
Theatre. Her other credits include Absent Friends, Don’t
Dress for Dinner, Fur Coat and No Knickers as well as Private Lives, An
Ideal Husband, Gas Light and Tom Foolery. English has starred
in many pantomimes throughout the UK and her television credits include Fresh
Fields, Chance in a Million, Brush Strokes and being featured in many
episodes of The Benny Hill Show. On film her credits include The
Wicked Lady and Bugsy Malone.
Nicola Brazil made her West End debut in Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre
and subsequently went on to play Amber in Hairspray at the Shaftesbury
Theatre and Sandy in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre. She has
recently filmed ITV’s Wire in the Blood and played Fran in Children’s
Ward. Her debut album Cross the Battleline in Nashville won
her the HMV Rising Star Award as well as being named Touring Artist of the
Year.
Michael Pickering also made his
West End debut in Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre which he
followed by playing the leading role of Ryan Evans in High School Musical
at the Apollo Hammersmith. Subsequently he has performed in New Zealand,
South East Asia and Europe in the world tour of Mamma Mia!
Jon Conway created and
directed Boogie Nights, which was one of the first pop catalogue
musicals in the West End and subsequently has played all over the world.
He wrote the original stage musical production of the Paramount hit TV series Happy
Days. Recently he created the world-wide hit show Simply Ballroom which
premiered in Las Vegas, then toured the USA, Dubai, South Africa, Singapore and
the UK including the Theatre Royal Drury Lane London. His varied career
has seen him create shows for BBC TV in the 1990’s, direct two Royal
Galas but most notably he is the most prolific writer of British pantomime,
having producing and written over 400 to his credit. Conway’s next
project is a family musical that will open in Beijing, China which he has
written in Mandarin. Jon Conway was co founder and is a director of Qdos
Entertainment plc and is also Managing Director of Qdos Productions.
David Gilmore’s
directing credits include Grease in the West End and internationally, Daisy
Pulls It Off and Lend Me A Tenor at The Globe, Noises Off
which toured nationally, Defending The Caveman at the Apollo Theatre, Beyond
Reasonable Doubt at the Queen’s Theatre, Chapter Two at the
Gielgud Theatre and Annie Get Your Gun at the Aldwych Theatre.
LISTINGS
INFORMATION ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIR
Dates:
previews from 20 April, (not 17 April as previously announced)
Booking until 5 September 2010
Press
night:
28 April at 7pm
Performances:
Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm
Wednesday and Saturday at 3pm
Sunday at 4pm
Nb there are no performances between 25 June – 6 July
Ticket
prices:
£20, £30, £40, £50
previews
£25, £35, £45, £55 main run
Address:
Garrick Theatre, Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0HH
Box
Office:
0844 412 4662
Websites:
www.allthefunofthefairmusical.com
Theatre Royal Bath Productions presents FELICITY KENDAL in
MRS WARREN’S PROFESSION
By Bernard Shaw; Directed
by Michael Rudman
Comedy
Theatre, Panton Street, London
16
March – 19 June 2010, 7.45pm
Mrs Warren’s Profession transfers to London’s Comedy Theatre on 16 March for a 14
week run until 19 June 2010.
“This remains a fascinatingly bold play and the
preternaturally youthful Felicity Kendal lends its still-pertinent arguments a
vivaciousness that makes it utterly believable” - Mark Shenton, Sunday
Express
Mrs Warren’s daughter, Vivie, has never
really known much about her mother. A prim young woman, she has enjoyed a
comfortable upbringing, a Cambridge education, a generous monthly allowance and
now has ambitions to go into the Law. Is it conceivable that all this
privilege and respectability has been financed from the proceeds of the oldest
profession? How will Vivie react when she finds out the awful truth about her
mother’s ill-gotten gains?
Shaw’s ultimate test of a
mother-daughter relationship is one of his most witty and provocative plays.
Written in 1894 but banned from performance until the racy 1920s, Mrs
Warren’s Profession lays bare the rampant hypocrisy of Victorian
society and its constrained morals. In 1905 when the production opened in New
York, the entire company was arrested by the police and the New York Herald
declared the play “Morally rotten. It defends immorality. It glorifies
debauchery…….”
Felicity Kendal is much loved for her
illustrious television and stage career. She has starred in many long-running
television series including The Good Life; Solo; The Mistress and
Rosemary and Thyme. Her recent stage performances include Happy Days
(2003), Amy’s View (2006) and The Vortex (2008), all
directed by Peter Hall and appeared opposite Simon Russell Beale in Charlotte
Jones’ Humble Boy directed by John Caird. Most recently she
starred in Simon Gray’s The Last Cigarette directed by Richard
Eyre.
“This witty, moving and gripping
production of one of Shaw’s greatest plays must surely find a home in the
West End” Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph
The cast also includes Mark Tandy as Praed;
David Yelland as Crofts; Lucy Briggs-Owen as Vivie; Eric Carte as Reverend
Samuel Gardner and Max Bennett as Frank.
Tony Award-winning director Michael Rudman
has worked extensively in the West End, on Broadway and at the National
Theatre. His award-winning productions include David Storey’s The
Changing Room and Dustin Hoffman in Death of a Salesman.
Press Night: Thursday 25 March, 7pm
Venue:
Comedy Theatre, Panton Street, London
Dates:
16 March – 19 June 2010, 7.45pm
Tickets:
£20 - £48.50
Box
Office: 08700606622/ www.ambassadortickets.com
New York’s acclaimed Public Theater, in association
with Cameron Mackintosh, are delighted to announce that “HAIR”, the 2009 Tony-Award winning musical, will open
at the Gielgud Theatre on Wednesday 14 April 2010, following
previews from 1 April. Tickets go on sale Friday 20 November 2009.
With book and lyrics by James
Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot, this critically acclaimed
new production of the classic 1967 musical had its run extended three times
whilst playing at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park last summer before
transferring to the Al Hirschfield Theatre on Broadway where it continues to
play to packed houses. In 1967, “HAIR” was the show that
officially opened the Public Theater’s long time home on Lafayette Street
and has the distinction of being the first off-Broadway show to transfer to
Broadway. It moved to Broadway in April 1968, running for 1,873 performances.
The ground-breaking production opened at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre in
1968 causing a sensation as the first musical to open after the abolition of
Lord Chamberlain (the British Censor). The production ran for 1,998 performances, only forced to close because
the ceiling collapsed at the Shaftesbury Theatre.
Oskar Eustis, Artistic
Director of the Public Theater said, “I first saw
“Hair” as a fourteen year old runaway in London in 1972.
Dancing on stage at the Shaftesbury, I started to believe there was a place in
the world for me, and those like me. To bring the Public's production of
“Hair” back to London in 2010 means more to me than I can
say.”
Cameron Mackintosh said, “Little did I think when I
was the production runner on the original London production of
“Hair” in 1968 that 41 years later I would be bringing the Public
Theatre’s acclaimed new production back to London complete with its
extraordinary Broadway cast. “Hair” has always been far more
than a musical. It’s a celebration of life, love and freedom.
When it originally opened, my friends who were never interested in the theatre
flocked to see it because it mirrored their own sentiments, as peace, love and
anti-war feelings were being expressed all over the world. Its success
was not just theatrical but social. So I was amazed all these years later
to find myself swept away again by the joyous electric exuberance and
commitment of the current Broadway cast. The rejection of the war in
Vietnam has now morphed into the world’s concern at what is happening in
Afghanistan. A period musical is once again as contemporary as
today’s headlines and I’m very proud to help bring this production
with its wonderful company into one of my theatres.”
A celebration of life, a love letter to freedom, and a
passionate cry for hope and change, “HAIR”
features some of the greatest songs ever written for the stage including
‘Aquarius’, ‘Good Morning Starshine’, ‘Let the
Sunshine In’ and the title number.
When “HAIR”
opens at the Gielgud Theatre next year with the entire Broadway cast, this will
mark the first time that an entire original Broadway cast has opened a musical
in the West End.
Directed by Diane Paulus, “HAIR” has scenic design by Scott Pask, costume design
by Michael McDonald, lighting design by Michael Chybowski, sound design by Acme
Sound Partners and choreography by Karole Armitage.
“HAIR” is
produced in London by the Public Theater, in association with Cameron
Mackintosh. The Public Theater
(currently under the Artistic Directorship of Oskar Eustis) was founded by
Joseph Papp in 1954 as the Shakespeare Workshop and is now one of
America’s pre-eminent cultural institutions, producing new plays,
musicals, productions of Shakespeare, and other classics at its headquarters on
Lafayette Street and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The Public
has won 40 Tony Awards, 145 Obies, 39 Drama Desk Awards, 24 Lucille Lortel
Awards and 4 Pulitzer Prizes.
“HAIR”
will have evening performances Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm and Thursday
and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm. Tickets are priced £17.50 - £65
and are available from www.hairthemusical.co.uk
ALL MY SONS
DIRECTED BY HOWARD DAVIES
STARRING DAVID SUCHET AND ZOE
WANAMAKER
OPENS IN LONDON AT
THE APOLLO THEATRE, SHAFTESBURY
AVENUE
ON 27 MAY 2010
WITH PREVIEWS FROM 19 MAY 2010
Acknowledged
as Arthur Miller’s first great success of his supremely influential
career, All My Sons opens for
previews at the Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue on 19 May 2010 with the
press night on 27 May.
A compelling story
of forbidden love, loyalty, guilt and the corrupting power
of greed, All My Sons stars David Suchet and Zoe
Wanamaker and will be directed by Howard Davies. Joe
Keller (David Suchet) is alleged to have supplied World War II fighter planes
with defective engines, leading to the deaths of innocent pilots - a crime
for which his business partner took the fall. One of Keller's sons,
himself a pilot, is thought to have been killed in action. But his mother
(Zoe Wanamaker) can't accept his death and equally can't accept that
her dead son's fiancée has transferred her affections to her other
son. The confrontations that ensue lead to the uncovering of a
world-shaking family secret...
Arthur Miller
is arguably America’s finest playwright whose other landmark works
include A View from the Bridge, The Crucible and Death of a Salesman.
David Suchet is best known for his role as the
Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie’s Poirot. His other television work includes The Life of Freud, the BBC drama Victoria and Albert, Murder in Mind, Anthony Trollope’s
The Way We Live Now (BAFTA
nomination) and Maxwell (Best Actor, 2008 International Emmy Awards). Suchet’s film credits include Executive Decision, A Perfect Murder, Flood
and The Bank. Aside from his
television and film work, David has also worked extensively in theatre. His recent stage credits include Complicit (The Old Vic), Once in a Lifetime (National Theatre),The Last Confession (Theatre Royal
Haymarket) and the Royal
Shakespeare Company productions of Troilus
and Cressida, The Tempest and Othello. Other credits include Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Critic's
Circle Award), Separation (Olivier Award nomination), Oleanna and Amadeus (Best Actor, Royal Variety Club Award, Tony nomination on
Broadway and Olivier Award nomination).
Zoe
Wanamaker has appeared extensively in film, television and
theatre including the Harry Potter movies, the award winning BBC series My Family and on stage in Much Ado About Nothing, The Rose Tattoo
and His Girl Friday at the National
Theatre. She was awarded the Olivier Award for Best Actress for her performance
in Electra at the Donmar Warehouse
and on Broadway as well as a Tony nomination for The Lincoln Centre production
of Awake And Sing!
Director Howard
Davies won the Olivier Award for Best Director for his production of All My Sons at the National Theatre in
2000. He is an Associate Director at the National
Theatre
and was previously Associate Director at the Almeida Theatre and the RSC.
Davies
established and ran the Warehouse Theatre for the RSC where he directed and
produced 26 new plays in four years. His National Theatre, West End and
Broadway productions include Burnt By The
Sun, Gethsemane, Her Naked Skin, Naked Skin, Piaf, Never So Good, Les Liaisons
Dangereuses, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Iceman Cometh, Private Lives, Breath of
Life and A Moon for the Misbegotten and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.
He has produced several operas in the UK; and one musical, My Fair Lady, on Broadway. He has won numerous awards including
Oliviers, Evening Standard, Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards (NY).
All My Sons is
produced by Kim Poster for Stanhope
Productions, Sonia Friedman Productions and Eric Falkenstein for Spark
Productions.
Director Howard
Davies
Designer William
Dudley
Lighting Mark
Henderson
Music Dominic
Muldowney
Sound Paul Groothius
PERFORMANCE DETAILS
From 19
May – 11 September 2010
Press night 27
May at 7pm
Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm
Wednesday & Saturday at 2.30pm
The Apollo Theatre box office: 0844 412
4658
www.amswestend.com
● David Grindley to direct Six Degrees
of Separation
● 24 Hour Plays Gala returns
for sixth year
The Old Vic has announced two new productions beginning in September
with Trevor Nunn returning to direct Inherit the Wind, starring Kevin Spacey.
Following the first year of Sam Mendes’ The Bridge Project,
which is currently in preview at The Old Vic featuring The Cherry Orchard and
The Winter’s Tale, these new productions mark the beginning of the sixth
season for The Old Vic Theatre Company under Kevin Spacey as Artistic Director.
The fifth season has also included Matthew Warchus’ award-winning revival
of The Norman Conquests, now playing on Broadway, and Dancing at Lughnasa.
In September, Trevor Nunn will direct Kevin Spacey, as Henry
Drummond, in Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's grippingly relevant drama
Inherit the Wind, in which two legal Titans confront each other when a
community puts freedom of thought on trial. Considered one of the great
American plays of the twentieth century Inherit the Wind is based on the famous
1925 Scopes 'Monkey' Trial in which science teacher John Scopes was accused of
violating a Tennessee state statute by teaching Charles Darwin's theory of
evolution to his students.
This production marks the 150th Anniversary of the publication of
Darwin’s 'The Origin of Species'
In January 2010, David Grindley will direct John Guare’s
adrenalin-fuelled, Olivier award-winning play Six Degrees of Separation. A sharp, vivacious take on two worlds
colliding, the play is inspired by the real life story of a flamboyant con
artist who managed to convince wealthy residents of Manhattan’s Upper
East Side he was the son of Sidney Poitier. The play originally debuted on
Broadway in 1990 and in 1993 it was adapted as a film starring Stockard
Channing - reprising her Broadway role - Donald Sutherland and Will Smith. This
new production will be the first major London revival of the play in almost 18
years.
The Old Vic, The Cut,
London SE1 8NB
Box Office: 0844 871
7628
Book Online:
www.oldvictheatre.com
In June 2010, some of the finest British and American theatre
talents converge at The Old Vic for the second year of The Bridge Project. The
three-year, transatlantic partnership unites The Old Vic with Brooklyn Academy
of Music and Neal Street Productions. Two classic plays will be performed in
repertoire throughout the run. The Bridge Project is presented by Bank of
America with support from American Airlines and is produced by The Old Vic,
Brooklyn Academy of Music and Neal Street Productions.
Kevin Spacey, Artistic Director of The Old Vic commented “I
had a wonderful experience working with Trevor Nunn on Richard II and I am
thrilled we’ll be reunited for this timely production of Inherit the
Wind. David Grindley's production of Six Degrees of Separation will, I am sure,
be a highly anticipated event. These productions continue The Old Vic tradition
of great plays and renowned creative talent and we're delighted to welcome two
of Britain’s finest theatre directors back to our stage.”
The 24 Hour Plays Gala returns to The Old Vic on Sunday 1 November
for the sixth year running. 40 internationally renowned actors, directors and
writers join forces to test their talents to the limit and create six short
plays in just 24 hours. Past participants have included; Gael Garcia Bernal,
Jim Broadbent, Josh Hartnett, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Joseph Fiennes, Rosamund Pike,
Brooke Shields, Vince Vaughan and Catherine Tate. The 24 Hour Plays Celebrity
Gala is the principal annual fundraising event in support of Old Vic New
Voices. This department is dedicated to working with young people, developing
emerging talent and building new audiences. The Old Vic receives no government
subsidy so the Gala and other fundraising events are vital to ensure this
ongoing work.
Bank of America presents
THE BRIDGE PROJECT
Produced by The Old Vic, Brooklyn Academy of Music & Neal Street
Productions
THE TEMPEST and AS YOU LIKE IT
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
STEPHEN DILLANE, ANNE-MARIE DUFF, CHRISTIAN CAMARGO AND JULIET RYLANCE
ANNOUNCED FOR 2010 COMPANY
DIRECTED BY SAM MENDES
Following a critically acclaimed
inaugural year, Sam Mendes will again direct a transatlantic company of actors
for the second season of The Bridge Project, a unique three-year series of
co-productions between The Old Vic, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and Neal
Street Productions devoted to producing large-scale, classical theatre for
international audiences. The new cast is led by Stephen Dillane, Anne-Marie
Duff, Christian Camargo and Juliet Rylance who will perform a double-bill
pairing of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and As You Like It.
Dillane will play Prospero in The
Tempest and Jaques in As You Like It, joined by Duff as Ariel and Rosalind,
with Camargo as Stephano and Orlando, and Rylance as Miranda and Celia.
The Bridge Project again begins its
international journey in New York, with As You Like It opening at The BAM
Harvey Theatre in January 2010, followed by The Tempest in February 2010.
Following the same pattern, it will then embark on an international tour
visiting Asia and Europe before arriving in London at The Old Vic in the
summer.
Stephen Dillane returns to the New
York stage for the first time since winning the Tony Award for his performance
in David Leveaux’s production of The Real Thing. Making her US stage
debut, Anne-Marie Duff was critically acclaimed for her recent Saint Joan at
The National Theatre and the BBC mini-series, Elizabeth – The Virgin Queen.
Christian Camargo, last appeared on Broadway in Simon McBurney’s popular
production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons and was acclaimed for his
Hamlet earlier this year at Theater for a New Audience. Juliet Rylance recently
played Desdemona in the much admired production of Othello at Theater for a New
Audience and has also performed in productions at Shakespeare’s Globe in
London and The Chichester Festival Theatre.
Commenting on the 2010 double-bill,
Sam Mendes says:
“Stephen Dillane and I began a conversation
about his playing Prospero in The Tempest when I first conceived The Bridge
Project back in 2007 and I’m delighted to be finally bringing those plans
to fruition. I’m equally thrilled to be welcoming Anne-Marie Duff, one of
the finest actors of her generation, playing Rosalind in As You Like It.
Complemented by Christian Camargo and
Juliet Rylance - two actors I have also followed, admired and hoped to
collaborate with – it all adds to my excitement about forming the Bridge
Project’s second company, and building on the wonderful experience of our
first year.
The Bridge Project is a major
commitment for actors. It unfurls across nine months with two plays performed
across major seasons in New York and London, interspersed with an international
touring schedule that takes in the Far East and many of Europe’s finest
cultural festivals. The current Bridge company has been made extraordinarily
welcome in the countries we’ve visited and I’m hugely looking
forward to making a second such journey.”
The full company will again be drawn
from leading British and American actors, with further casting to be announced
shortly. The cast are appearing with the permission of American Equity and UK
Equity. The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors’ Equity Association
and UK Equity, incorporating the Variety Artistes’ Federation, for their
assistance on this production.
Director Sam Mendes
Set Designer Tom Piper
Costume Designer Catherine Zuber
Lighting Paul Pyant
Sound Simon Baker
Music Mark Bennett
Choreography Josh Prince
Casting Maggie Lunn and Nancy
Piccione
NEW YORK & LONDON PERFORMANCES IN
2010
BAM, New York January – March
(tickets on sale Autumn 2009)
The Old Vic, London June –
August (tickets on sale Autumn 2009)
The first season of The Bridge
Project, which pairs The Cherry Orchard and The Winter’s Tale, is
currently running
at The Old Vic until 15 August and
concludes on 22 August at Epidaurus, Greece as part of the Athens &
Epidaurus
Festival.
“Revelatory brilliance. The
Bridge Project comes up trumps with its first two classics”
Sunday Telegraph
‘One of those magical and
eternal moments of universal theatre’ El Mundo
‘the city has been blessed with
a taste of the world's finest theatre in the Bridge Project’
New Zealand Herald
PRESS CONTACTS
The Old Vic and International Tour
Jo Allan - jo@joallan.co.uk /phone
+44 (0)7889 905 850/+44 (0)207 243 6176
BAM/exclusive U.S. engagement
Boneau/Bryan-Brown - Adrian
Bryan-Brown, Jessica Johnson - jjohnson@bbbway.com / (212) 575-3030
Bank of America
Diane Wagner - Diane.wagner@bankofamerica.com
/ (312) 992-2370 (o), (312) 952-1756 (c)
TOBY STEPHENS STARS
IN
THE REAL THING
BY TOM STOPPARD
DIRECTED BY ANNA MACKMIN
The Old Vic, London
Previews from 10 April 2010
Press Night: 21 April 2010
Anna Mackmin returns to The
Old Vic to direct Toby Stephens in Tom Stoppard's multi-award winning modern
classic, The Real Thing , opening on Wednesday 21 April 2010, with previews
from 10 April.
Henry (Toby Stephens) is
a successful and talented playwright married to Charlotte, an actress playing
the lead in his current play about adultery. Her co-star and friend Max, is
married to Annie, also an actor. Henry and Annie have fallen in love but is it
any more real than the subjects in Henry’s play? As the story unravels,
Henry discovers that love - ‘the real thing’ - can be unpredictable
and painful. Deeply moving and startlingly funny, this razor sharp drama
brilliantly examines the complex nature of love, art and reality.
The Real Thing was last
staged in the West End in 2000 after transferring from the Donmar Warehouse.
The production starred Stephen Dillane and Jennifer Ehle as Henry and Annie,
both of whom won Tony awards when the play subsequently transferred to
Broadway.
Tom Stoppard’s
first stage play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which was produced at
The Old Vic in 1967, made the playwright an overnight sensation, followed in
London and New York by Jumpers, The Real Inspector Hound, Travesties, Every
Good Boy Deserves Favour, Dirty Linen, Night and Day, The Real Thing, Artist
Descending a Staircase, Hapgood, Arcadia, The Invention of Love, his trilogy
The Coast of Utopia (which won seven Tony Awards) and Rock ‘n’ Roll
(Tony Award nomination for Best Play). His translations and adaptations include
The Seagull, Undiscovered Country, On the Razzle, Rough Crossing, Henry IV,
Heroes and The House of Bernarda Alba. Film scripts as writer and co-writer include
Shakespeare in Love (which won him Academy and BAFTA awards), Enigma, Brazil,
and Empire of the Sun. Stoppard directed his own screenplay of Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern Are Dead, which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
He is the recipient of four Tony Awards, four Critics’ Circle Awards,
seven Evening Standard Awards, and an Olivier, Academy and BAFTA Award. Sir Tom
Stoppard was knighted for Services to the Arts in 1997 and in 2000 was bestowed
with the Royal Order of Merit, the most prestigious British accolade of all for
a writer.
Toby Stephens was most
recently seen on stage in A Doll’s House (Donmar) and The Country Wife
directed by Jonathan Kent (Theatre Royal Haymarket). Other stage credits
include Peter Hall's production of Tartuffe at the Playhouse Theatre, Phedre
(Almeida and Brooklyn Academy of Music), Betrayal (Donmar) and A Streetcar
Named Desire (Theatre Royal Haymarket). Work at the RSC includes Hamlet,
Measure for Measure, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Antony and Cleopatra,
Wallenstein, All's Well That Ends Well and Coriolanus (for which he was awarded
the Sir John Gielgud prize for Best Actor and the Ian Charleson Award).
Toby is also a versatile
television and film actor. His television credits include the BBC adaptation of
Jane Eyre, Cambridge Spies, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Wired, Vexed and The
Camomile Lawn. Film work includes Severance, Orlando, Die Another Day and The
Great Gatsby.
In 2009, Anna Mackmin
directed the critically acclaimed ‘in the round’ production of
Dancing at Lughnasa at The Old Vic. Previous directorial credits include Brian
Friel’s new version of Hedda Gabler (Gate Theatre, Dublin), Catherine
Tate in her stage debut in Under The Blue Sky, David Storey’s In
Celebration with Orlando Bloom (Duke of York’s), Dying for It (Almeida),
Ghosts (The Gate) and Burn/Citizenship/Chatroom (National). Anna is currently
in rehearsals for Really Old, Like Forty Five, a new play by Tamsin Oglesby,
which opens in January 2010 at the National.
Director Anna Mackmin
Designer Lez Brotherston
Lighting Hugh Vanstone
Sound Simon Baker
Further
Casting to be announced
· Shakespeare's Globe Trust is
a registered charity No.266916.
Shakespeare’s
Globe presents plans for 2010 theatre season
23
April – 3 October 2010
Shakespeare’s
Globe confirms further details of the 2010 Kings and Rogues theatre season, following
a record-breaking 2009 which achieved the highest attendance figures ever in
its 13 year history, as well as seeing the Globe reach new
audiences all over the
Shakespeare’s
masterpieces Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 will premiere at the new Globe, as will
the rarely performed Henry VIII, which was responsible
for burning down the original Globe. Henry VIII will be played by Dominic Rowan who is currently performing
in the west-end production of The
Misanthrope, following his celebrated performance as Touchstone in the
Globe’s 2009 production of As You
Like It. Henry VIII will be
directed by Mark Rosenblatt (Holding Fire! at Shakespeare’s
Globe) and composed by Nigel Hess (Romeo and Juliet and The Merry Wives of Windsor at Shakespeare’s Globe).
Artistic
Director of the Globe, Dominic Dromgoole, will direct Jamie Parker as Prince Hal and William
Gaunt as
Launching
the season on Shakespeare’s birthday, 23 April, will be Lucy Bailey’s production of Macbeth
with Elliot Cowan. Cowan recently
played Stanley Kowalski in the Donmar’s award-winning A Streetcar Named Desire, and his screen
credits include Mr Darcy in the TV drama series Lost in Austen and Ptolemy in the film Alexander. Bailey’s previous credits at the Globe include Timon of Athens and Titus Andronicus and she now returns to collaborate with the
mischievous Venezuelan choreographer Javier
De Frutos. De Frutos received the Olivier Award for ‘Best Theatre
Choreographer’ for Cabaret, and last year he premiered a sensational new work at
Sadler’s Wells for the Diaghilev centenary. Lady Macbeth will be
played by Laura Rogers, who received
critical acclaim for her performance as Celia in the Globe’s 2009
production of As You Like It. Orlando Gough is composing with design
by Katrina Lindsay.
Christopher
Luscombe’s
charming and exuberant production of The Merry Wives of Windsor returns
in 2010, following its triumphant 2008 Globe premiere. The Merry Wives of
New
writing remains at the core of Dromgoole’s vision for Shakespeare’s
Globe and the 2010 season hosts two world premieres. Award-winning playwright Howard Brenton presents his new play Anne
Boleyn which dramatises the life and legacy of Henry VIII’s
notorious second wife as both a sexually ambitious woman and a religious
reformer. Anne Boleyn will re-unite
Brenton with director John Dove
following their successful partnership on In
Extremis at the Globe.
Bedlam by Nell Leyshon marks the Globe’s first ever staging of a known
female playwright in its entire history, which will be directed by Jessica Swale, who recently scored a
big hit with The Rivals at Southwark
Playhouse. Leyshon's new play is a fictional portrayal of a
In
2009, both new plays – Helen by
Euripides in a new version by Frank McGuinness and A New World by Trevor Griffiths – smashed their targets and
played to packed audiences, indicating the growing audience for new writing at
Shakespeare’s Globe.
In
addition to its main-stage programme, Shakespeare’s Globe will revive its
2009 touring productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream
directed by Raz Shaw and The Comedy of Errors directed by
Rebecca Gatward. Approximately 35,000 people, at over 30 beautiful venues
across the
Dominic
Dromgoole, Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe commented:
“Our building continues to
embrace the most democratic audience in the world – all of us a rogue and
a king in our own way – much like William Shakespeare. The 2010 theatre
season offers a flavour of some of his wild, warm, violent and virtuous kings
and rogues – plus new creations from two of our most rousing,
contemporary playwrights. We are proud to continue our national and
international touring, reaching out to new audiences for the Globe.”
Public
booking for the theatre season opens today – 15 February 2010. Tickets are
available through the box office: 020 7901 9919 / 020 7087 7398 or online: www.shakespeares-globe.org.
Shakespeare’s
Globe 2010 Theatre Diary
Macbeth by
William Shakespeare
23 April – 27 June
Directed by Lucy Bailey; Designed by Katrina Lindsay;
Composed by
Press night: Thursday 29 April
Henry
VIII by William Shakespeare
15 May – 21 August
Directed by Mark Rosenblatt; Designed by Angela Davies; Composed
by Nigel Hess
Press night: Monday 24 May
Henry
IV Parts 1 and 2 by William Shakespeare
Part 1: 6 June – 2 October
Part 2: 3 July – 3 October
Directed by Dominic Dromgoole; Designed by Jonathan
Fensom; Composed by Claire van Kampen
Press nights: 2pm and 7.30pm on Wednesday 14 July
Anne
Boleyn by Howard Brenton WORLD PREMIERE
24 July – 21 August
Directed by John Dove; Designed by Michael Taylor
Press night: Wednesday 28 July
The
Merry Wives of
14 August – 2 October
Directed by Christopher Luscombe; Designed by Janet Bird;
Composed by Nigel Hess
Press night: Thursday 19 August
Bedlam by
Nell Leyshon WORLD PREMIERE
5 September – 1 October
Press night: Thursday 9 September
Directed by
Jessica Swale
· Shakespeare’s Globe on film - Three productions
from Shakespeare’s Globe’s 2009 theatre season will be screened in
cinemas and available on DVD and Blu-ray this spring and summer, as part of its
new partnership with Opus Arte. For more information visit www.shakespeares-globe.org/onfilm
·
Globe Education presents a programme
of workshops, lectures, events and staged readings all year round. For general
enquires about Globe Education please call 020 7902 1430 or visit www.globe-education.org
·
Shakespeare’s
Globe Exhibition
is open daily – Oct to Apr from 10am to 5pm. May to Sep 9am – 5pm.
Admission includes a guided tour of the Theatre. For further information,
telephone 020 7902 1500.
·
Shakespeare's Globe
Shop
stocks a variety of products, including season specific merchandise. Items can
be bought at the on-site shop or on-line at www.globe-shop.com.
·
Capital Campaign –
Shakespeare’s Globe is currently fundraising for a major
development project. The first part of the campaign – to develop a Globe
Education and Rehearsal Centre – is underway. To find out more visit www.shakespeares-globe.org/thesecondstage
·
The Shakespeare Globe
Trust is a registered charity No.266916. The Globe receives no public subsidy.
Box Office Fax: (020) 7452 3030
NATIONAL
THEATRE: MARCH – JUNE 2010
Travelex £10 Tickets begins its
eighth season in the Olivier with Thomas Middleton’s WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN, directed by Marianne Elliott, with Harriet
Walter leading the cast
Thea Sharrock directs Terence
Rattigan’s AFTER THE DANCE in
the Lyttelton
LOVE THE SINNER, a new play by Drew Pautz, premieres in the Cottesloe directed by
Matthew Dunster
The Royal & Derngate, Northampton
productions of BEYOND THE HORIZON by
Eugene O’Neill and SPRING STORM
by Tennessee Williams open in the Cottesloe
NT LIVE: THE
HABIT OF ART broadcast to cinemas worldwide
Evenings with comedians Stewart Lee
and Mark Thomas; Platforms,
Exhibitions and Discover
BEYOND THE HORIZON and SPRING STORM Cottesloe
Theatre
Previews from 24 March, press
performances on 7 April, continuing in repertoire
The National Theatre presents the Royal & Derngate,
Northampton productions of BEYOND THE
HORIZON by Eugene O’Neill and SPRING
STORM by Tennessee Williams, opening in the Cottesloe on 7 April. Directed by Laurie Sansom, the company
for both plays is: Joanna Bacon, Robin Bowerman, Steven France, Gavin Harrison,
James Jordan, Jacqueline King, Michael Malarkey, Janice McKenzie, Ailish
Symons, Michael Thomson, Anna Tolputt and Liz White. The productions are
designed by Sara Perks, with lighting by Chris Davey, music by Jon Nicholls and
sound by Christopher Shutt.
Originally presented to critical acclaim at Royal &
Derngate, Northampton, as part of the Young America Season in October 2009,
these two plays showcase the early work of two of America’s greatest
writers.
BEYOND THE HORIZON is the powerful Pulitzer
prize-winning drama that formulated Eugene O’Neill’s vision of
America. Robert is about to start a new life across the ocean, whilst brother
Andy is settling on the family farm. But the realisation that they love the same
woman results in a dramatic reversal of fate.
SPRING STORM is a gripping early play by Tennessee Williams, which
received its European premiere in this production. Heavenly has almost
everything a young woman could desire, but when she’s forced to decide
between respectable suitor Arthur and handsome, wild lover Dick, her actions
cause a chain of consequences that tear their lives apart.
Laurie
Sansom is the Artistic Director of Royal & Derngate where he has directed Follies,
Twelfth Night, Soap, Time Of My Life, The Glass Cage,
Frankenstein, The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, The Wizard of Oz and Private
Fears In Public Places. Previously, he was Associate Director at
Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre where he directed over 20
productions. Other work in theatre includes: J B Priestley’s Dangerous
Corner (West Yorkshire Playhouse and West End), and Ravenhill For
Breakfast (Traverse).
WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN Travelex
£10 Tickets, Olivier Theatre
Previews from 20 April, press night
27 April, continuing in repertoire
Marianne Elliott directs WOMEN
BEWARE WOMEN by Thomas Middleton, opening the 2010 Travelex £10
Tickets season in the Olivier Theatre on 27 April. Harriet Walter returns to the National
to play Livia; the cast also
includes Samuel Barnett, Sioned Jones, Vanessa Kirby, Harry Melling, Lauren
O’Neil, Tilly Tremayne and Andrew Woodall. The production will be
designed by Lez Brotherston, with lighting by Neil Austin, music by Olly Fox,
choreography by Arthur Pita and sound by Ian Dickinson.
In the Italian court, where wealth secures power and power
serves lust, the lascivious Duke can play wherever he chooses. He catches the eye of another’s
exquisite bride, Bianca. Can a
glance secure her fate, a bribe appease her husband?
Isabella’s father would marry her off to a rich young
idiot, while Hippolito has won her trust and desires her truly. But he’s her uncle. These are her
choices. If twice-widowed Livia conspires against her sex to gain a little
clout, she’s only fighting to survive.
Corruption will not go unpunished in Thomas Middleton’s
blackly funny, fast and ferocious tragedy.
Harriet Walter’s work at the National includes Dinner (also West End), Life x 3, The Children’s Hour,
Arcadia and A Fair Quarrel. For the RSC, her many roles include Lady
Macbeth, Cleopatra and the title role in The
Duchess of Malfi; her recent
theatre work includes Elizabeth I in Mary
Stuart at the Donmar Warehouse and on Broadway.
Samuel Barnett’s last appearance at the National was as
Posner in The History Boys.
Marianne Elliott is an Associate Director at the National,
where her productions include All’s
Well That Ends Well, Harper Regan, Saint Joan (Olivier Award for Best
Revival, South Bank Show Award for Theatre),
Pillars of the Community (Evening Standard Award for Best
Director), Mrs Affleck and War Horse (co-directed with Tom Morris).
Travelex have renewed their sponsorship of £10 Tickets
for three more years from 2010.
Half of all the tickets for the Travelex £10 shows in the Olivier
Theatre are £10 (the rest are £15 and £30).
Media Partner of Travelex £10 Tickets: The Times
LOVE THE SINNER Cottesloe
Theatre
Previews from 4 May, press night 11
May, continuing in repertoire
LOVE THE SINNER, a new play by Drew Pautz, will be directed by Matthew Dunster,
opening in the Cottesloe on 11 May.
The cast includes Fiston Barek, Paul Bentall, Nancy Crane, Jonathan
Cullen, Sam Graham, Robert Gwilym, Scott Handy, Louis Mahoney, Charlotte
Randle, Ian Redford and Richard Rees.
The production will be designed by Anna Fleischle, with lighting by
Philip Gladwell, music by Jules Maxwell and sound by Paul Arditti.
An international group of church leaders converge in an
African hotel to contend the need for Christian doctrine to change with the
times. Fierce theological debate demonstrates that what’s current
thinking on one continent is abhorrent to another. In a neighbouring room, a brief sexual
encounter between Joseph, a local porter, and Michael, a British conference
volunteer, leads to a direct and potent challenge both to Michael, as he
returns to England to grapple with ethics of his own, and to the liberal claims
and professed compassion of the affluent West and its church.
Drew Pautz’s tense and provocative new play considers
what we may be willing to sacrifice, personally and in the public sphere, for
what we believe to be right.
LOVE THE SINNER is Drew Pautz's first play for the
NT. His debut play, Someone
Else's Shoes, premiered at Soho Theatre
in 2007. He also co-wrote and directed Project
E: An Explosion with The Work Theatre Collective and Project C on Principle at BAC.
Matthew Dunster is a director, playwright and
actor, and an Associate Director of The Young Vic. He has directed The Frontline at Shakespeare’s Globe; Testing the Echo for Out of Joint; The Member of the Wedding and Some
Voices at the Young Vic; Love and
Money at the Young Vic and Royal Exchange (Olivier Award nomination); and Cruising at The Bush.
AFTER THE DANCE Lyttelton
Theatre
Previews from 1 June, press night 8 June,
continuing in repertoire
Thea Sharrock directs AFTER
THE DANCE by Terence Rattigan, with designs by Hildegard Bechtler, lighting
by Mark Henderson and sound by Ian Dickinson, opening in the Lyttelton Theatre
on 8 June.
First staged in 1939, the play now often thought to be
Terence Rattigan’s masterpiece offers a subtle, witty unmasking of the
hedonistic 20s generation and a devastating study of repression and the human
heart.
As the world races towards catastrophe, a crowd of Mayfair
socialites party their way to oblivion.
At its centre is David, who idles away his sober moments researching a
futile book until the beautiful Helen decides to save him, shattering his
marriage and learning too late the depth of both David’s indolence and
his wife’s undeclared love.
But with finances about to crash and humanity on the brink of global
conflict, the drink keeps flowing and the revellers dance on.
This new production of AFTER
THE DANCE will launch a series of events leading up to the centenary of
Terence Rattigan’s birth in 2011.
One of the most influential playwrights of the mid-20th
century, his plays included The Winslow
Boy, The Browning Version, The Deep Blue Sea and Separate Tables; he is still the only
playwright who has had two straight plays run for over 1000 performances in
London’s West End simultaneously. In addition, he wrote numerous
screenplays including The Prince and the
Show Girl, Goodbye Mr Chips, The Yellow Rolls Royce and The VIPs.
Thea Sharrock’s
productions includeThe Emperor Jones
and Happy Now? for the National; The
Misanthrope, Equus, A
Voyage Round My Father and Heroes
in the West End; Cloud Nine at the
Almeida; and several productions for
The Peter Hall Company including Blithe
Spirit. She was formerly Artistic
Director of The Gate Theatre.
NT LIVE: THE HABIT OF ART
NT Live is
the National’s new initiative to broadcast live performances of plays
onto cinema screens worldwide. Alan
Bennett’s highly acclaimed new play THE
HABIT OF ART, directed by Nicholas Hytner, with Richard Griffiths, Alex
Jennings and Frances de la Tour leading the cast, will be screened on 22 April.
The
performance will be filmed in high definition, using innovative digital
technologies to broadcast it via satellite to over 300 cinemas in 21 countries,
including over 75 cinemas across the UK. For a list
of participating cinemas, visit www.ntlive.com
The Habit of
Art brings a successful pilot season to a close; NT Live
will continue with a second season, soon to be announced.
NT Live
is funded in partnership with Arts Council England and NESTA, and supported
internationally by Travelex.
NT Live is supported by The Northern Rock Foundation.
PRODUCTION AND CASTING UPDATES
LONDON ASSURANCE
The full cast
for Nicholas Hytner’s production of LONDON
ASSURANCE by Dion Boucicault, opening in the Olivier on 10 March, is: Mark
Addy, Richard Briers, Matt Cross, Fiona Drummond, Mark Extance, Richard Frame,
Junix Inocian, Tony Jayawardena, Simon Markey, Laura Matthews, Prasanna
Puwanarajah, Paul Ready,
THE WHITE GUARD
Howard
Davies’s production of Mikhail Bulgakov’s THE WHITE GUARD, in a new version by Andrew Upton, opens in the
Lyttelton on 23 March. The full
cast is: Anthony Calf, Graham
Butler, Peter Campion, Pip Carter, Gunnar Cauthery, Hannah Croft, Marcus
Cunningham, Paul Dodds, Kevin Doyle, Nick Fletcher, Daniel Flynn, Keiran Flynn,
Michael Grady-Hall, Mark Healy, Richard Henders, Paul Higgins, Conleth Hill,
Nick Julian, Dermot Kerrigan, Barry McCarthy, Stuart Martin, Daniel Millar and
Justine Mitchell.
THE PITMEN PAINTERS
Lee Hall’s THE PITMEN PAINTERS will open in New York for a limited run
from September at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, produced by Manhattan Theatre
Club by special arrangement with Bob Boyett. The original cast, who have stayed
with Max Roberts’s production since its Live Theatre, Newcastle premiere
in 2007, will recreate their roles in New York.
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/platforms
6pm (45 mins), £3·50/£2·50 unless stated; *
= platform followed by booksigning
Stewart Lee* Monday 6 April at 7.30pm, Olivier
If You Prefer a Milder Comedian,
Please Ask For One
Tickets
£15 (concessions £12.50); running time 1hr25mins (no interval),
followed by a DVD signing.
Comedian
Stewart Lee’s celebrated show begins in a high street coffee chain and
ends in a pear cider which is 100% disappointment. Expect punchy stuff near the
top, inexplicable hostility towards relatively innocuous figures, silences and
repetition, sudden and/ or gradual shifts in tone, velocity and volume, the
possibility of failure and a quasi-serious bit at the end. Stewart Lee was the
co-writer and director of Jerry Springer
– The Opera at the National in 2003, and has recently been seen on
television in Stewart Lee’s Comedy
Vehicle.
Mark Thomas* Tuesday 7 April at 7.30pm, Olivier
The Manifesto –
Election Special
Tickets
£15 (concessions £12.50); running time 2hrs, followed by a
booksigning.
Mark Thomas,
comedian, activist and Guinness World Record Holder for Most Number of
Political Demonstrations in 24 Hours, has been trawling a nation that is
economically, politically and socially drifting up a certain well-known creek
– and with the audience’s help, creating The People’s Manifesto. With a general election looming, join
him to create a strictly five-policy-only People’s Election Manifesto
which will then be handed to a special independent parliamentary candidate.
Somewhere between Jim’ll Fix It
for anarchists and a white collar Crimewatch,
this is a chance to have your say in the future of the country.
John Humphrys* 29
March, Lyttelton
John
Humphrys, presenter of Today and Mastermind, has just published his
seventh book, and has decided that’s quite enough to be going on with. He
reflects on the journalist as author and political interrogator, and why he
decided to write a funny book after dealing with such weighty subjects as
social change, industrial food production, the English language, God and death.
John Caird with
Simon Russell Beale* 9
April, Lyttelton
In Theatre Craft, the director
of Stanley, Peter Pan and Hamlet (2000) at the National offers
practical advice on all areas of directing, from Acting and Adaptation, to
Sound Effects and Wardrobe. He discusses the book with Simon Russell Beale.
David Hare* 14
April, Lyttelton
David Hare’s first full-length play, Slag, opened at Hampstead Theatre on 6 April 1970. To celebrate the
fortieth anniversary of his debut, and the sixteen plays he has had performed
at the National Theatre, he talks about his long life as a dramatist.
Laurie Sansom
on Beyond the Horizon and Spring Storm 22 April,
Cottesloe
The director discusses his productions of the Eugene O’Neill and
Tennessee Williams plays as they arrive at the NT from Northampton.
Bulgakov:
Russian Satirist 28
April, Lyttelton
Journalist and author Misha Glenny, and writer James Meek examine the life
of the troubled Soviet novelist and playwright, and reveal their passion for
his work.
Marianne
Elliott on Women Beware Women 29 April, Olivier
Director Marianne Elliott talks about her new production of Thomas
Middleton’s revenge tragedy.
John Bridcut:
Britten – Truth about Love?* 7
May, Lyttelton
The documentary-maker and writer talks about the life of Benjamin
Britten, which formed the basis of Britten’s
Children, a sensitive study of the connection between Britten’s work
and his relationships with the boys he often composed for.
Middleton:
Renaissance Man* 10
May, Olivier
“Men buy their slaves, but women buy their masters.” Gary
Taylor, editor of The Oxford Middleton
talks about a playwright called ‘feminist’ by some and
‘misogynist’ by others.
Josephine Hart:
Auden – Truth Out of Time 17 May,
Cottesloe
The author Josephine Hart is joined by special guests to present her
selection of the work of WH Auden; an opportunity to hear the succinct, elegant
and unforgettable words of one of Britain’s greatest poets.
Nicholas Hytner
on London Assurance 24
May, Olivier
The National’s Director talks about his new production of
Boucicault’s comedy.
O’Neill
& Williams: American Giants 26
May, Cottesloe
A scholarly pairing of Christopher Bigsby and Gilbert Debusscher
celebrates two giants of the American stage.
Contemporary
European Theatre Directors 28 May,
Cottesloe
This new study of the latest generation of European auteur-directors,
including Calixto Bieito, Thomas Ostermeier, Lev Dodin and Katie Mitchell,
looks at how theatre has responded to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the rise of
globalisation and the expansion of the European Union. A discussion led by the
book’s editors, Maria M Delgado and Dan Rebellato.
Robert Lindsay* 3 June,
Cottesloe
In Letting Go, actor Robert
Lindsay, whose work ranges from Citizen
Smith and GBH on television to Me and My Girl and The Entertainer on stage, reveals the people and events that have
influenced his life.
Matthew Dunster
amd Drew Pautz on Love the Sinner 15 June, Cottesloe
Drew Pautz talks with his director Matthew Dunster about this new play.
Victorian
Fancies 15
May 10.30am (2hrs) £10, Olivier
Boucicault’s London Assurance
was written in 1841 – the year of Dickens’ Old Curiosity Shop, the founding of Punch magazine and the Parisian premiere of Giselle – and a time when hundreds of theatres were being
built to house a flourishing industry. Now largely forgotten, this is the
chance to discover more about the age of melodrama, music hall and richly comic
drama – with extracts, songs, discussion and a special presentation of
Boucicault’s version of The
Corsican Brothers, performed in a Victorian Pollock’s Toy Theatre.
In Conversation
with,.,.
3pm (1hr), £5/4
A chance to hear NT company members talking about their career and
current role, and answering your questions. Chaired by Al Senter.
Alex Jennings 30
April, Lyttelton
Richard
Griffiths 7
May, Lyttelton
Fiona Shaw 14
May, Olivier
Richard Briers 24
May, Olivier
Simon Russell
Beale 1 June, Olivier
EXHIBITIONS
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/exhibitions
Stage by Stage,
a permanent exhibition on the National’s history is in the Olivier
Circle, plus a changing programme throughout the year, FREE to attend.
From Congo with Love 12 February – 11 April
Fashion photographer Rankin returned to the Congo with Oxfam in October
2009 and ran a series of photographic workshops, designed to enable one
community to tell their own stories of love in a conflict zone. The results are
like nothing that has ever been seen before: a huge family photo album –
taken by people who, prior to meeting Rankin, had not ever seen, let alone
held, a camera. As well as Rankin’s signature portraits, this free
exhibition – showing human resilience in the face of absolute adversity
– will display two hundred images taken by people he met.
Doug Patterson:
Artist in Paradise 5 April –
16 May
Following the journeys of three great 18th and 19th-century
artist travellers (Vasileio Gregorovic Barsky, Samuel Davis and Hercules
Brabazon Brabazon), Doug Patterson has created a body of paintings and drawings
which record three of the world’s great faiths. From the architecture and
landscapes of the Christian Orthodox monasteries of Mount Athos and Meteora in
Greece to the Buddhist Dzongs of Bhutan, and the Islamic mosques of North
Africa and northern India, Patterson’s work gives us a personal insight
into the spiritual world of these very private places of worship.
Forgotten
Spaces 24
May – 4 July
Forgotten Spaces showcases the best entries from a design competition
launched by RIBA London, Design for London and investor and developer Qatari
Diar. Designers were invited to seek out disused and forgotten areas of London
and propose ideas for developing the space to serve the local area. The
proposal could be simple or complex, commercial or public; a piece of public
art or a new building. The only requirement was to respond to a need in the
community. Forgotten Spaces platforms a grass roots approach to design with
local artists and designers devising solutions for individual sites.
West End
Theatre in the 19th Century 26
May – 27 June
This exhibition of rare programmes, playbills, prints, portraits and artefacts,
celebrates 19th-century London theatre and showcases original
material from the Westminster Libraries and Archives Theatre Collection. It
provides a fascinating insight into the colourful world of Victorian theatre,
from its star performers to marvels of theatre design. This is a unique
opportunity to see photographs and hand-coloured prints of actors from the era,
theatre fans and other unusual artefacts. The exhibition coincides with the
publication of Robert Tanitch’s new book, The London Stage in the Nineteenth Century.
Discover: National Theatre
A programme
of events and activities for people of all ages to discover more about the
National Theatre.
Replay/Reveal
Monday 14
June: The White Guard
3.30 –
4.15pm, tickets £4.50/£3.50 Suitable for age 11+.
Members of
the NT’s technical team reveal what happens behind the scenes and the
play’s complex stage operations and special effects.
To book,
call 020 7452 3000.
Theatrecraft
for families
31 May
– 4 June; suitable for age 8+ (children must be accompanied by an adult).
An exciting
week of hands-on activities for adults and children together. Explore the different crafts and
techniques of staging theatre – from costume design to sound – with
the NT’s team of experts.
In depth:
Spring Storm and Beyond the Horizon
Cottesloe
Theatre: 25 May, 2 – 5pm; 1 June, 2 – 5pm; 8 June, 2 – 10pm
Course fee
£50, including tickets to both productions
Explore the
cultural and social contexts which influenced Eugene O’Neill and
Tennessee Williams as they created these early works, before seeing both shows
in the Cottesloe.
For further details on all Discover activities
– including insights into NT productions for schools and Theatreworks
courses for teachers – and to view short films about selected NT
productions, an Online Tour of the NT, and the Making Theatre section visit www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/discover
Public Information:
Public phone/online
booking for new productions in the March – June season opens on 17
February .
Book tickets
online at www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
Box
Office: 020 7452 3000, open 9.30am
– 8pm Fax: 020 7452 3030
Information: 020 7452 3400
AUDIO-DESCRIBED PERFORMANCES AND
TOUCH TOURS FOR BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE
The National
offers a free touch tour before each Saturday audio-described performance:
a chance to
visit the set, feel the props, meet members of the company, and to enhance
enjoyment of the show. Tours must
be booked in advance by calling the Box Office: 020 7452 3000.
Nation Saturday
27 March at 2pm (touch tour at 12.30pm)
The Power of Yes Saturday
17 April at 2.15pm (touch tour at 12.45pm)
The Habit of Art Saturday
24 April at 2.15pm (touch tour at 12.45pm)
London Assurance Friday
14 May at 7.30pm and Saturday 15 May at 2pm – (touch tour at 12.30pm).
The White Guard Friday
21 May at 7.30pm and Saturday 22 May at 2.15pm - (touch tour at 12.45pm)
Women Beware Women Friday
4 June at 7.30pm and Saturday 5 June at 2pm - (touch tour at 12.30pm)
Beyond the Horizon Saturday
19 June at 2pm (touch tour at 12.30pm)
Really Old, Like Forty Five Wednesday
17 March at 7.30pm
London Assurance Monday
12 April at 7.30pm
The Habit of Art Wednesday
5 May at 2.15pm
The White Guard Wednesday
12 May at 7.30pm
Spring Storm Monday
17 May at 7.30pm
Beyond the Horizon Wednesday
26 May at 7.30pm
Women Beware Women Tuesday
8 June at 7.30pm
War Horse Saturday
3 July at 2.30pm (New London Theatre)
THE
NATIONAL’S SPONSORS
TRAVELEXworldwide money
Travelex £10
Tickets
The National Theatre would appreciate an acknowledgement in the body of the text and/or as a separate footnote following editorial copy, for example:
‘Women Beware Women, a Travelex £10
Ticket show’
Media Partner of Travelex £10 Tickets
THE TIMES
Innovation at the National Theatre, including the
productions of Nation, The Pitmen Painters and War Horse, is sponsored by Accenture
London Assurance is the third production in The Shell Series: Classic Drama at the National Theatre
Philips and the National Theatre are working in partnership to reduce energy consumption.
The National Theatre’s airline partner is American Airlines.
The National Theatre is working in creative partnership with Corbis on photographs
for its 2010 season.
New Connections is supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
The White Guard is supported by American Express.
The Habit of Art is supported by a group of individual donors.
NT Live is funded in partnership with Arts Council England and NESTA.
Travelex supports NT Live internationally.
NT Live
is supported by The Northern Rock Foundation.
Primary Classics is supported by: The Behrens Foundation, The Ernest Cook Trust, The Sidney and Elizabeth Corob Charitable Trust, The Goldsmiths' Company, The Ingram Trust, The MacRobert Trust, Peter Minet Trust, Archie Sherman Charitable Trust and The Topinambour Trust.
The National Theatre would like to acknowledge the support
of
The National Theatre is supported by Arts Council England.
Box
Office Fax: (020) 7452 3030
THE OPEN AIR
THEATRE, REGENT'S PARK
Web
Site: www.open-air-theatre.org.uk
AS REGENT’S PARK
OPEN AIR THEATRE COMPLETES ANOTHER RECORD-BREAKING SEASON, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
TIMOTHY SHEADER ANNOUNCES THE LINE-UP FOR 2010:
THE CRUCIBLE; A COMEDY OF ERRORS; MACBETH; INTO THE WOODS
The Regent’s Park Open Air
Theatre production of Hello, Dolly!, directed by Timothy Sheader,
has become not only one of the critically acclaimed successes of the year, but
also the highest grossing production in the history of the theatre. The production runs until this Saturday,
12 September.
This triumphant close to another
record-breaking season under the artistic directorship of Timothy Sheader
follows productions of Much Ado About Nothing, Liam
Steel’s robust and enchanting production of The Tempest –
re-imagined for ages 6 and above, and The Importance of Being Earnest. As
the first non-Shakespeare play to be programmed at the park in recent history,
Irina Brown’s production of Wilde’s classic played to 96.5% of
capacity, breaking all attendance records at the 1240 seat venue. Additionally,
2009 has seen over 13,500 school children introduced to the works of
Shakespeare and Wilde in the magical surroundings of the park.
The Open Air Theatre team has
already started work on the 2010 season and announces today the productions
that will make up Sheader’s third season at the park – one of
witches, woods and mistaken identity. As part of the ongoing expansion of the
venue’s repertoire, and capitalising on the park’s unique
environment, The Crucible will be the first production, playing from 24 May
to 19 June, 2010. Sheader will direct Arthur Miller’s thriller, based on
the events that led to the Salem witch trials.
Families and school children will
be transported to Burnham wood as Macbeth is re-imagined for audiences
aged 6 and over. The Scottish play will be performed in rep for 4 weeks from 3
July, 2010 including two performances on Sundays.
Making a welcome return to the
Open Air Theatre after 14 years is Shakespeare’s most hilarious play A
Comedy of Errors, which will be performed from 24 June to 31 July,
2010.
Ending the season will be
Sheader’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into
The Woods, playing from 5 August to 11 September, 2010.
Priority booking opens on 10
November 2009 for Members; public bookings open on 1 December
2009. Join the Members scheme
now from £15 at www.openairtheatre.com.
·
Regent’s
Park Open Air Theatre, at 1240 seats, is one of London’s largest
playhouses and welcomes over 130,000 people to its four annual productions of
three plays and one musical. Although famed for its productions of
Shakespeare’s work the Company has committed to expanding the repertoire
to include plays by other writers. The theatre’s outdoor setting, and the
scale and ambition of its four annual productions, make it unique in the
London, and British, theatre landscape.
ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL /
HAYWARD GALLERY
Box Office: (South Bank Centre) 020 7960 4242
for complete information or to book on-line
(OCCASIONAL)
For more details or individual advice/help - email: GPowner@aol.com