The Duchess Of Malfi at the Old Vic Theatre
January 5, 2012
Eve Best (Nurse Jackie) returns to The Old Vic in John Webster’s great Jacobean tragedy, The Duchess of Malfi, directed by Jamie Lloyd.
Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre – Round-up of Reviews
May 27, 2011
A round-up of reviews of Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London
Eve Best in Much Ado About Nothing
Acclaimed director Jeremy Herrin makes his directorial debut at the Globe with Shakespeare’s comedy, Much Ado About Nothing. Olivier award-winning actress Eve Best and Charles Edwards take on Shakespeare’s sparring lovers Beatrice and Benedick, with Joseph Marcell as Leonato.
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New shows opening this week: David Tennant, Catherine Tate, James Cordon, Eve Best
May 16, 2011
What’s opening in the West End this week including David Tennant and Catherine Tate in Much Ado, Zoe Wanamaker and James Corden at the National and The Lord of the Flies.
NEW SHOWS OPENING 16 – 22 MAY 2011
Much Ado About Nothing starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate
The star of the week is Much Ado About Nothing, which starts previews from today, 16 May at the Wyndham’s Theatre. The high-profile casting of David Tennant and Catherine Tate as Beatrice and Benedick should guarantee the production some serious press coverage and Sold Out boards outside the theatre. Shakespeare’s play is directed by Josie Rourke, who will soon take over from Michael Grandage as artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse.
The Cherry Orchard opens on Tuesday at the National Theatre starring Zoe Wanamaker. Also at the National on Tuesday, One Man, Two Guvnors starts previews in the Lyttelton starring James Corden, who returns to the National for the first time since The History Boys. The new play by Richard Bean, based on Carlo Goldoni’s classic Italian comedy The Servant of Two Masters will feature songs by Grant Olding.
Finally on Tuesday, Thrille Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story transfers to the Charing Cross Theatre after a sold-out and critically successful run at the Tristan Bates Theatre. Stephen Dolginoff’s multi-award winning musical about infamous Chicago thrill killers Leopold & Loeb stars George Maguire and Jye Frasca.
James Corden in One Man, Two Guvnors
On Thursday 19 May the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park launches its 2011 summer season with a stage adaptation of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Created by the same team who produced last season’s The Crucible, including director Timothy Sheader, the play’s setting promises to be a perfect match for the story of a group of schoolboys who survive a plane crash.
Saturday sees the start of previews for the week’s second production of Much Ado About Nothing, this time at Shakespeare’s Globe starring Nurse Jackie’s Eve Best as Beatrice and Charles Edwards as Benedick. Also on Saturday over in Washington DC, a new production of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies opens at the Kennedy Center starring Bernadette Peters and our very own EP (Elaine Paige!)
AND CLOSING:
This Saturday we say goodbye to Tracie Bennett in End of the Rainbow and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg at the Gielgud Theatre.
OPENING NEXT WEEK
The press night for Anya Reiss’s new play The Acid Test at the Royal Court on 23 May. The short run at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs is already sold out but promises to be one of the most exciting new plays to emerge in London this year.
On Wednesday 25 May, Rupert Everett, Kara Tointon and Diana Rigg open in George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion at the Garrick Theatre.
On Friday 27 May, Kristin Soctt Thomas leads the cast in previews of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal at the Comedy Theatre, in a new production directed by Ian Rickson, also starring Douglas Henshall and Ben Miles.
AND OPENING IN JUNE
Dominic West in Simon Gray’s Butley at the Duchess Theatre (from 1 June); Broadway musical Lend Me A Tenor at the Gielgud Theatre starring Joanna Riding (from 2 June); Shrek The Musical has its press night at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane starring Amanda Holden and Nigel Lindsay (7 June); The Flying Karamazov Brothers come crashing into the Vaudeville Theatre with much kilt wearing, flame throwing and general madcap hysteria (from 9 June); Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead starring featuring Tim Curry, Samuel Barnett and Jamie Parker at the Theatre Royal Haymarket (from 16 June); Kevin Spacey as Richard III in Sam Mendes’s new production of Shakespeare’s play at the Old Vic (from 18 June); and a big-budget new movie-to-stage musical comes to town as Ghost The Musical opens at the Piccadilly Theatre starring Caissie Levy, Richard Fleeshman and Sharon D Clarke, with music by Dave Stewart (from 22 June).
Eve Best and Charles Edwards as Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe
April 11, 2011
Acclaimed director Jeremy Herrin makes his directorial debut at the Globe this summer, with Shakespeare’s brightest and wittiest of comedies, Much Ado About Nothing. Olivier award-winning actress Eve Best and Charles Edwards take on Shakespeare’s sparring lovers Beatrice and Benedick, with Joseph Marcell as Leonato. Further casting includes Ewan Stewart as Don Pedro, Paul Hunter as Dogberry, Matthew Pidgeon as Don John and Joe Caffrey as Borachio. This will be the Globe’s longest running Shakespeare production of the summer, appearing between 21 May and 1 October 2011. Much Ado About Nothing is a masterful example of Shakespeare’s comic writing and dramatic suspense, including the much-loved chemistry and banter between Beatrice and Bendick, where words become wondrous weapons.
Jeremy Herrin is deputy artistic director at the Royal Court and during his time there has presented The Heretic, Kin, The Priory, That Face and Tusk Tusk, for which he was nominated for an Evening Standard Best Director Award. He has also directed The Family Reunion at the Donmar Warehouse and Statement of Regret at the National Theatre.
Eve Best is widely recognized for her role as Dr. Eleanor O’Hara in Nurse Jackie, on Showtime in the USA and BBC2, and as Wallis Simpson in The King’s Speech. Her theatre credits include The Homecoming (Broadway); A Moon for the Misbegotten (Old Vic, Broadway) and Hedda Gabler (Almeida Theatre), for which she received the Olivier Award for Best Actress. Charles Edwards recently appeared as Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night (National Theatre), Wonderlust (Royal Court), and he originated the role of Hannay in 39 Steps (Tricycle, Criterion and Broadway).
Joseph Marcell’s previous work for Shakespeare’s Globe includes Coriolanus and Under The Black Flag 2006. He is best known for his television roles including Geoffrey in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Ewan Stewart’s previous stage work includes Beautiful Burnout (Frantic Assembly/National Theatre of Scotland), and Major Barbara (National Theatre). His film credits include All Quiet on the Western Front and Titanic. M
The Globe’s 2011 theatre season is entitled The Word is God and celebrates the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible and the power of language. Beginning on 17 April (Palm Sunday) with a cover-to-cover reading of the King James Bible, the season includes All’s Well That Ends Well, Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe, a revival of Anne Boleyn by Howard Brenton and two world premieres – The Globe Mysteries, a new version of the Medieval Mystery Cycle by Tony Harrison and The God of Soho by Chris Hannan. The theatre season is complemented by two small-scale tours of Hamlet and As You Like It. Tickets are available through the box office: 020 7401 9919 / 0871 297 0749 or online at www.shakespearesglobe.com.
Release issued by: Shakespeare’s Globe
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Shakespeare’s Globe opens public booking for 2011 Theatre Season ‘The Word is God’; Eve Best and Janie Dee in new season
February 10, 2011
Shakespeare’s Globe opens public booking for its 2011 theatre season ‘The Word is God’, on Monday 14 February 2011. The season, which celebrates the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible and the enduring power of dramatic language, follows the unprecedented success of the 2010 Kings and Rogues programme which achieved a record 91% of full capacity attendance across the entire season, the highest in the Globe’s history.
The season will commence with a cover-to-cover reading of The King James Bible and a small-scale touring production of Hamlet, presenting a rare opportunity to experience the two foundation stones of the modern English language back-to-back. The Bible will be recited by 20 actors – including many Globe regulars – in five teams of four. Over the course of 69 hours, spread across eight days between Palm Sunday and Easter Monday, the actors will read aloud one of the greatest and most significant English texts.
Early casting for the season promises a continuation of the Globe’s ability to spot rising stars with Joshua McGuire as Hamlet, which will be directed by Dominic Dromgoole. Joshua appeared in Posh at the Royal Court in 2010, and is co-starring in the new BBC series The Hour with Ben Whishaw and Dominic West. This small-scale production opens at the Globe on Shakespeare’s birthday, 23 April, before travelling all over the UK and Europe, visiting a unique trio of England’s oldest working theatres – Theatre Royal Margate, Georgian Theatre in Richmond and Bath – before finishing in Elsinore.
The first large-scale production will be the Globe premiere of All’s Well That Ends Well, directed by John Dove with Olivier Award-winning actress Janie Dee as the Countess of Roussillon. Janie’s stage work includes A Month in the Country (Chichester Festival) and Comic Potential (Lyric Theatre / Scarborough / Manhattan Theatre Club) for which she won the Olivier Award for Best Actress. John Dove’s previous work for Shakespeare’s Globe includes Anne Boleyn and In Extremis.
This production will be followed by Shakespeare’s brightest and wittiest of comedies, Much Ado About Nothing, from acclaimed director Jeremy Herrin whose recent work includes The Heretic, Kin, The Priory and That Face at the Royal Court. The Globe welcomes another recipient of the Olivier Award for Best Actress, Eve Best, to the role of Beatrice. Eve’s recent work includes The Homecoming (Broadway), As You Like It (Sheffield Crucible) and Dr. Eleanor O’Hara in Nurse Jackie, on Showtime in the USA and BBC2. Completing Shakespeare’s wittiest, most endearing pair of lovers, is Charles Edwards as Benedict. Charles recently appeared as Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Rose, Kingston) and he originated the role of Hannay in 39 Steps (Tricycle, Criterion and Broadway).
‘The Word is God’ theme will continue with the first Globe production of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, the greatest tragedy in English before Shakespeare, which tells the tale of a man who sells his soul to the devil for power and knowledge. Directed by Matthew Dunster, who has previously directed The Frontline and Troilus and Cressida at the Globe, Paul Hilton takes the role of Doctor Faustus. Paul’s previous work includes Rosmersholm (Almeida) and In Celebration alongside Orlando Bloom (Duke of York’s).
In August, the Globe will celebrate the British medieval tradition of the Mystery plays, with a new version by poet and playwright Tony Harrison, directed by Deborah Bruce. Following his acclaimed adaptation of The Mysteries at the National Theatre in 1985, Tony will revisit the Mystery Cycles for the unique performance space of the Globe, celebrating the spirit of street theatre and processional performance. Deborah previously worked at the Globe in 2009, directing Frank McGuinness’s adaptation of Helen by Euripides.
The story of King James’ feat in uniting England’s religious factions with a common Bible is told in Howard Brenton’s acclaimed dramatisation of the life and legacy of Anne Boleyn, directed by John Dove, which returns to the Globe following its 2010 sell-out run.
The season will be brought to a rude and rowdy climax with The God of Soho by Chris Hannan, directed by Raz Shaw – a wild satire on modern living, set in contemporary, suburban England. Chris Hannan’s previous work includes the award-winning The Evil Doers (Bush Theatre), Shining Souls (Old Vic) and Gamblers (Tricycle Theatre). Raz Shaw directed the Globe’s popular touring production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2009 and 2010. This bracingly modern play continues the Globe’s commitment to new writing, which draws bigger audience’s year-on-year.
In addition to its main-stage programme, The Globe will present two new small-scale productions in 2011, As You Like It from James Dacre – director of the 2010 Olivier Award winning production The Mountaintop – and Hamlet. Now in their fifth year, the Globe’s regional tours help to sustain a fading tradition of touring Shakespeare, which in 2010 reached over 35,000 people at 38 beautiful venues across the UK and Europe.
Shakespeare’s Globe filmed four of its 2010 Shakespeare productions in high definition as part of its commitment to capture its work on film. In partnership with Arts Alliance Media, these productions will appear in cinemas across the world this year, beginning in May 2011 with The Merry Wives of Windsor. During the 2011 season, the Globe will film Much Ado About Nothing, All’s Well That End’s Well and Doctor Faustus. These high-quality recordings provide the archive with accurate and lasting records of the Globe’s work, as well as extending its work into cinemas, on DVD and online.
Public booking for the theatre season opens on 14 February 2011.
Release issued by: Shakespeare’s Globe press office
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OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Actress Winners
June 19, 2010
OLIVIER AWARDS – BEST ACTRESS WINNERS
Best Actress
2011 Nancy Carroll for After the Dance
2010 Rachel Weisz for A Streetcar Named Desire
2009 Margaret Tyzack for The Chalk Garden
2008 Kristin Scott Thomas for Chekhov’s The Seagull
2007 Tamsin Greig for Much Ado About Nothing
2006 Eve Best for Hedda Gabler
2005 Clare Higgins for Hecuba
2004 Eileen Atkins for Honour
2003 Clare Higgins for Vincent In Brixton
2002 Lindsay Duncan for Private Lives
2001 Julie Walters for All My Sons
2000 Janie Dee for Comic Potential
1999 Eileen Atkins for The Unexpected Man
1998 Zoë Wanamaker for Electra
1997 Janet McTeer for A Doll’s House
1996 Judi Dench for Absolute Hell
1995 Clare Higgins for Sweet Bird Of Youth
1994 Fiona Shaw for Machinal
1993 Alison Steadman for The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice
1992 Juliet Stevenson for Death And The Maiden
1991 Kathryn Hunter for The Visit
1989/90 Fiona Shaw for Electra, As You Like It and The Good Person Of Sichuan
1987 Judi Dench for Antony and Cleopatra
1986 Lindsay Duncan for Les Liaisons Dangereuses
1985 Yvonne Bryceland for The Road To Mecca
Actress of the Year in a New Play
1988 Pauline Collins for Shirley Valentine
1984 Thuli Dumakude for Poppie Nongena
1983 Judi Dench for Pack Of Lies
1982 Rosemary Leach for 84 Charing Cross Road
1981 Elizabeth Quinn for Children Of A Lesser God
1980 Frances de la Tour for Duet For One
1979 Jane Lapotaire for Piaf
1978 Joan Plowright for Filumena
1977 Alison Fiske for Dusa, Fish, Stas and Vi
1976 Peggy Ashcroft for Old World
Actress of the Year in a Revival
1988 Harriet Walter for Twelfth Night and The Three Sisters
1984 Vanessa Redgrave for The Aspern Papers
1983 Frances de la Tour for A Moon For The Misbegotten
1982 Cheryl Campbell for A Doll’s House
1981 Margaret Tyzack for Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
1980 Judi Dench for Juno And The Paycock
1979 Zoë Wanamaker for Once In A Lifetime
1978 Dorothy Tutin for The Double Dealer
1977 Judi Dench for Macbeth
1976 Dorothy Tutin for A Month In The Country
Best Actress in a Musical
2011 Sheridan Smith for Legally Blonde – The Musical
2010 Samantha Spiro for Hello Dolly!
2009 Elena Roger for Piaf
2008 Leanne Jones for Hairspray
2007 Jenna Russell for Sunday In The Park With George
2006 Jane Krakowski for Guys And Dolls
2005 Laura Michelle Kelly for Mary Poppins
2004 Maria Friedman for Ragtime at the Piccadilly
2003 Joanna Riding for My Fair Lady
2002 Martine McCutcheon for My Fair Lady
2001 Samantha Spiro for Merrily We Roll Along
2000 Barbara Dickson for Spend Spend Spend
1999 Sophie Thompson for Into The Woods
1998 Ute Lemper for Chicago
1997 Maria Friedman for Passion
1996 Judi Dench for A Little Night Music
1995 Ruthie Henshall for She Loves Me
1994 Julia McKenzie for Sweeney Todd
1993 Joanna Riding for Carousel
1992 Wilhelmenia Fernandez for Carmen Jones
1991 Imelda Staunton for Into The Woods
1989/90 Lea Salonga for Miss Saigon
1988 Patricia Routledge for Candide
1987 Nichola McAuliffe for Kiss Me Kate
1986 Lesley Mackie for Judy
1985 Patti LuPone for Les Misérables and The Cradle Will Rock
1984 Natalia Makarova for On Your Toes
1983 Barbara Dickson for Blood Brothers
1982 Julia McKenzie for Guys And Dolls
1981 Carlin Glynn for The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas
1980 Gemma Craven for They’re Playing Our Song
1979 Virginia McKenna for The King And I
