Evening Standard Awards – winners

Royal Court and National Theatre sweep up at annual Evening Standard Theatre Awards; Royal Court wins best play; National’s Nancy Carroll and Rory Kinnear win best actress and actor

At a glittering ceremony yesterday, 28 November, at the newly reopened Savoy Hotel in London, the annual Evening Standard Theatre Awards were announced.

Hosted by Stephen Fry, the 56th awards saw a host of stars from stage and screen come together to celebrate the best of the year’s theatre scene.

This year saw a notable number of rising young stars acknowledged in the awards, including teenage playwright Anya Reiss, who was presented with the Charles Wintour award for most promising playwright by Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch for her play Spur of the Moment at the Royal Court.

Also another young Royal Court winner was rewarded, with Skins actor Daniel Kaluuya winning the “Editor’s award for a shooting star” for Sucker Punch. The venue also picked up best play for Bruce Norris’s Clybourne Park, which is to transfer to the Wyndham’s Theatre next year, and best design for Miriam Buether for Sucker Punch at the Royal Court and Earthquakes in London at the National Theatre.

The National were also major beneficiaries of this year’s awards, with Nancy Carroll beating Passion’s Elena Roger, Legally Blonde’s Sheridan Smith and Clybourne Park’s Sophie Thompson to win the best actress award for After the Dance at the National. Also at the venue, Rory Kinnear won best actor for his title role in Hamlet, along with Measure for Measure at the Almeida, and Howard Davies won best director for The White Guard and his production of All My Sons at the Apollo.

Best musical went to Passion, the Donmar Warehouse’s revival of Stephen Sondheim’s show starring Elena Roger, and the Milton Shulman award for Outstanding newcomer was given to You Me Bum Bum Train created by Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd at the LEB Building, E2.

Two special awards for achievement in theatre were also given: Sir Michael Gambon received a special award  for his contribution to theatre, and Sir Peter Hall, who enjoyed this 80th birthday this month, was awarded the Moscow Art Theatre’s Golden Seagull award.

The National Theatre’s production of Hamlet, starring Evening Standard best actor award winner Rory Kinnear, will be filmed as part of the National’s NT Live season and screened in cinemas across the UK and around the world on 9 December 2010. See more information here.

Watch a video of the Evening Standard Theatre Awards

See the full list of Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2010 winners here

Evening Standard Theatre Awards – Winners 2010

Awards announced: Sunday 28 November 2010, Savoy Hotel London

BEST ACTOR
Rory Kinnear- Measure for Measure (Almeida)/Hamlet (National’s Olivier)

THE NATASHA RICHARDSON AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS
Nancy Carroll – After the Dance (National’s Lyttelton)

BEST PLAY
Bruce Norris – Clybourne Park (Royal Court)

THE NED SHERRIN AWARD FOR BEST MUSICAL
Passion – Donmar Warehouse

BEST DIRECTOR
Howard Davies – The White Guard (National’s Lyttelton)/All My Sons (Apollo)

BEST DESIGN
Miriam Buether – Sucker Punch (Royal Court)/Earthquakes in London (National’s Cottesloe)

THE CHARLES WINTOUR AWARD FOR MOST PROMISING PLAYWRIGHT
Anya Reiss – Spur of the Moment (Royal Court)

THE MILTON SHULMAN AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING NEWCOMER
You Me Bum Bum Train created by Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd (LEB Building, E2)

EDITOR’S AWARD FOR A SHOOTING STAR
Daniel Kaluuya for his performance in Sucker Punch (Royal Court)

THE LEBEDEV SPECIAL AWARD
Sir Michael Gambon for his contribution to theatre

THE MOSCOW ART THEATRE’S GOLDEN SEAGULL
Sir Peter Hall

Opening this week: Cinderella, A Flea

This week’s new West End shows include Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella, the RSC’s winter season at the Roundhouse and Tom Hollander in A Flea in her Ear at the Old Vic.

RSC at the Roundhouse

The RSC takes residence at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm for its Winter season, from 30 Noevmber. The ten-week repertoire of eight plays by Shakespeare – six full-scale productions and two specially adapted for children and families, will feature the RSC’s current 44-strong ensemble. The season opens on 30 November with Rupert Goold’s production of Romeo and Juliet and runs in repertoire to 5 February next year, with Michael Boyd’s production of Antony and Cleopatra; The Winter’s Tale directed by David Farr; Julius Caesar directed by Lucy Bailey; As You Like It directed by Michael Boyd; and David Farr’s King Lear. Book tickets to the RSC at the Roundhouse.

Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella

Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella makes a glamorous return to Sadler’s Wells on 30 November, featuring a brand new production of his dazzling ballet set in London during the Second World War and played against Prokofiev’s haunting score. First seen in the West End in 1997, but now completely revised, this new production is created to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Blitz. It features design by Lez Brotherston who won an Olivier Award for his original designs, and new lighting by Neil Austin. Cinderella will be performed in Surround Sound, designed by Paul Groothius. Featuring a specially commissioned new recording of the score, New Adventures will create a cinematic experience, taking the audience into the heart of Prokofiev’s magnificent music and the sound world of war-torn London. Book tickets to Cinderella.

King Lear at the Donmar

Derek Jacobi gives his King Lear at the Donmar Warehouse from 3 December, in a new production by Michael Grandage. Also starring Gina McKee. Book tickets.

A Flea in her Ear

Tom Hollander starts previews of A Flea in Her Ear at the Old Vic from 4 December. Written by Georges Feydeau in 1907, A Flea In Her Ear is a classic French farce set against a backdrop of jealousy, misunderstandings and confrontation. Richard Eyre directs an all-star cast including Tom Hollander (Rev), Lisa Dillon (Design for Living) and Jonathan Cake (Mosely). This adaptation of A Flea in her Ear by John Mortimer is returning home to the Old Vic, where it was originally performed by the National Theatre in 1966 starring Albert Finney. It was later revived in 1989 starring Jim Broadbent. Other cast include Di Botcher, Oliver Cotton, Freddie Fox, Fiona Glascott, Lloyd Hutchinson, Tim McMullan, John Marquez, William Maxwell, Rebecca Night, Maggie Service and Walter van Dyk.

COMING SOON

And next week… Love Story gets its official opening night at the Duchess starring Emma Williams and Michael Xavier on 6 December; those CBBC rascals Dan and Jeff bring Pantomime mayhem to the Vaudeville with Edinburgh family hit Potted Panto on 10 December; and on the same night English National Ballet open their seasonal production of The Nutcracker at the London Coliseum in a sumptuous new production by Artistic Director Wayne Eagling to celebrate the Company’s 60th birthday.

Evening Standard Awards – shortlist

Sheridan Smith and Elena Roger head-to-head for Evening Standard Theatre Awards

The Evening Standard has published their Theatre Awards shortlist ahead of a glitzy ceremony at the newly reopened Savoy Hotel this Sunday, 28 November.

Hosted by Stephen Fry, the 56th annual awards will see stars of stage and screen join an impressive list of nominees for this year’s event.

In the Best Actress category, in honour of Natasha Richardson, two musicals stars are pitted against each other: Sheridan Smith, in Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre, and Elena Roger, star of Passion at the Donmar Warehouse and soon to be Ricky Martin co-star on Broadway in Evita. They are shortlisted against Nancy Carroll for the National’s After the Dance and Sophie Thompson for the Royal Court’s Clybourne Park – a part which she will revive in the New Year for the West End transfer of the show at the Wyndham’s Theatre.

The National Theatre and the Royal Court are the producing houses to benefit most from this year’s shortlist, with 10 and 11 nods respectively. The National Theatre is celebrated for a range of productions, with Thea Sharrock (After the Dance), Nicholas Hytner (The Habit Of Art, London Assurance, Hamlet), Howard Davies for The White Guard (plus All My Sons at the Apollo) and Laurie Sansom for Beyond The Horizon and Spring Storm all vying for the Best Director award.

The Royal Court’s reputation for writing has won out again over its competitors this year, earning the venue complete dominance over both Best Play category, with nominations for Cock, Clybourne Park and Sucker Punch, and Most Promising Playwright category, with DC Moore for The Empire, Nick Payne for Wanderlust (plus If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet at the Bush) and Anya Reiss for Spur Of The Moment.

Performances of Shakespeare is the theme of this year’s Best Actor category, with Roger Allam singled out for his performance in Henry IV Parts One and Two at Shakespeare’s Globe and Rory Kinnear for two Shakespeare roles, the National Theatre’s Hamlet and the Almeida’s Measure For Measure. David Suchet also gets nod for All My Sons at the Apollo Theatre.

Best Musicals, in honour of Ned Sherrin, cover all tastes, with Legally Blonde at the Savoy, Stephen Sondheim’s Passion at the Donmar Warehouse and – despite Trevor Nunn and John Caird’s sniping over Cameron Mackintosh’s new touring production – the 2010 reinvention of Les Miserables at the Barbican Theatre.

Finally Outstanding Newcomers include a well-deserved nod to Spice Girl Mel C for Blood Brothers.

See the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2010 shortlist here

Bush’s Josie Rourke for Donmar head?

Passion at the Donmar Warehouse – Reviews Round-up

Passion at the Donmar Warehouse – Reviews Round-up

Passion is not the easy crowd-pleaser with which many thought the Donmar would choose to celebrate Stephen Sondheim’s 80th year. But it is certainly a powerful, though-provoking piece, and one which allows director Jamie Lloyd to team up again with Elena Roger following their 2008 success with Piaf.

Critics hail Elena’s performance as another triumph for the actress who continues to choose brave, demanding roles. Much praise is also heaped on the other strong supporting performances, notably David Thaxton and Scarlett Strallen, if not universally for the musical itself.

Read extracts from Passion reviews below, including The Times, The Telegraph, The Observer and The Guardian.

Goodbye Into The Woods, hello Passion

As one Sondheim door closes…

This Saturday we bid farewell to the Open Air Theatre’s excellent production of Into The Woods starring Hannah Waddingham and Jenna Russell (see reviews).

But all is not lost, as tomorrow, Friday 10 September, sees the start of Passion at the Donmar Warehouse starring the sexy, stellar Elena Roger (Evita, Piaf).

Given that the whole run (until 27 November) is largely sold out at the theatre, here’s hoping that the critics are kind and it gets a swift West End transfer. Time will be of the essence given that Elena has to pop to Broadway in 2011 and shake it about with Ricky Martin in the West End transfer of Donmar supremo Michael Grandage’s production of Evita.

LINKS

The Telegraph’s recent interview with Elena Roger, “I don’t play normal women”

Donmar announces 2011 season

The Donmar Warehouse in London has announced its 2011 season, including a revival of Harold Pinter’s Moonlight, the UK premiere of Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Beeand Felicity Jones in Schiller’s Luise Miller.

Michael Grandage, artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse in Covent Garden, has announced the venue’s new 2011 season.

Tony-award winning Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will open at the London venue on 11 February 2011.The hit show, about six teenagers competing in an American spelling competition, has a book by Rachel Sheinkin and music and lyrics by William Finn. The musical will be directed by Jamie Lloyd, who opens his new production of Sondheim’s Passion this week at the Donmar, starring Elena Roger.

The new season will also feature Harold Pinter’s 1993 play about a dysfunctional family, Moonlight, which will receive its first major London revival, directed by Bijan Sheibani (7 April to 28, May 2011).

Finally, the season ends with up-and-coming actress Felicity Jones, who recently starred in Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s movie Cemetery Junction, in a new version of Schiller’s Luise Miller, from 8 June. The play will be directed by Michael Grandage and adapted by Mike Poulton. No stranger to the Donmar, Felicity appeared in their acclaimed 2008 production of The Chalk Garden.

Also, as previously announced, the new season will open with Derek Jacobi giving his King Lear, following his hugely successful Donmar West End performance as Malvolio in Twelfth Night in 2009. The production will also star Gina McKee.

Howard Panter: Fame and fortune

We read with interest Ambassador Theatre Group co-owner Howard Panter’s spread in the Sunday Times Money section this weekend, “Fame and fortune: I put my savings on the stage”, in the hope of getting some tips.

Alongside his wife and business partner Rosemary Squire, they are now the most powerful people in British Theatre and certainly the largest theatre owners. Their deal last year to buy Live Nation’s venues boosted their portfolio to 39 theatres in the UK, including London’s Apollo Victoria, Comedy, Duke of York’s, Fortune, Lyceum, Phoenix, Piccadilly, Playhouse, Savoy, Trafalgar Studios and Donmar Warehouse. That means they manage more than 11,000 theatre seats in London. Powerful indeed.

In the feature, Panter, 61, revealed his ambition to capitalise on the current overseas interest in London shows. His aim is to export shows to other countries by selling the intellectual property of a show but getting it backed by investment from the home country, and populating it with the host country’s local talent.

Presumably it’s a similar model to Cameron Mackintosh but without actually producing the show – more in line with TV companies exporting formats overseas. This makes sense given ATG’s increasing emphasis on production (recent examples include Keira Knightly in The Misanthrope, Legally Blonde at the Savoy and a new tour of The Rocky Horror Show – which Panter owns the rights to). This virtuous circle of owning venues and then producing plays for them makes perfect business sense and mirrors Mackintosh in reverse (a producer who moved into theatre ownership).

Panter is also lobbying hard for tax breaks to help “angels” invest in commercial theatre. Angels – usually rich theatre-loving individuals who take a punt on backing a show in the hope of making some money (rare) and getting a bit of West End glamour (guaranteed) – have long been the life-blood of commercial theatre financing. As Panter says, “With the cuts that are coming, commercial theatre is the bit that’s going to grow, while the publicly subsidised sector of the theatre will be under huge additional strain. The problem, though, is how you sell this politically right now”.

Hard to do, I imagine, when you put it like that.

If commercial theatre is going to grow then tax breaks are going to be less likely. The argument needs to be that, like productions and venues, the subsidised and commercial theatre run in a virtuous circle of talent and creativity – generating lots of money for the UK in the process. It doesn’t pay to have one without the other, so in the short-term commercial theatre will grow as it takes audiences away from a dwindling subsidised world, but in the long-run the whole thing dries up.

We also learnt that Howard has minor dyslexia, likes a good holiday, started in theatre with £1 but now turns over about £230m a year, and has got showbiz in his bones: he originally studied lighting, sound, design, stage management and direction at Lamda.

Which is good to know because with great power comes great responsibility (ref: Spider-man), and we are going to need some seriously passionate, powerful and benevolent theatre people to see us through the next few years.

LINKS

Sunday Times – Howard Panter 15/08/10

ELENA ROGER in Passion

Argentinean actress continues to forge acclaimed career

By the time 2012 is out, Elena Roger is going to be considerably more famous than she is now.

That’s because Michael Grandage’s 2006 production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Evita is to be revived on Broadway in Spring 2012 starring Roger as Eva Peron, and joined by Latino superstar Ricky Martin as Che.

The Argentinean actress won an Olivier award for her role in the show – and if the reaction to her London performance in that role is anything to go by, America is going to fall in love with her.

She followed Evita in London with a 2009 Olivier Award win for her performance as Edith Piaf  in the Jamie Lloyd directed Piaf at the Donmar Warehouse and in the West End.

And she is about to return to the Donmar to star in a revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Passion alongside Scarlett Strallen and David Thaxton, again directed by Jamie Lloyd.

The show is part of the Donmar’s celebration of Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday, that will also include concert performances of Merrily We Roll Along and Company at the Queen’s Theatre, featuring members of the original Donmar productions including Anna Francolini, Adrian Lester, Clive Rowe, Michael Simkins and Sophie Thompson in Company and Daniel Evans, Julian Ovenden and Samantha Spiro in Merrily We Roll Along.

Elena Roger’s other credits include Matthew Warchus’s Boeing Boeing, and in her native Buenos Aires she played Nine, Beauty and the Beast, Les Misérables, Saturday Night Fever and Mina, che cosa sei, with director Valeria Ambrosio.

Links:

News: West End Evita to transfer to Broadway

Donmar Warehouse

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