Handspring Puppet Company, the creators of the puppets for the multi-award winning production of War Horse at the New London Theatre and on Broadway, bring their critically acclaimed production of Woyzeck on the Highveld to the Barbican this September as part of a UK and European tour.

Woyzeck on the Highveld. Photo: Roy Tan

Originally created in 1992 and directed and designed by William Kentridge , this revival is directed by Luc de Wit and is based on German writer Georg Büchner’s famous play.

Woyzeck on the Highveld combines Handspring’s rod-manipulated puppets and Kentridge’s animated film, graphically illustrating Woyzeck’s tortured mind as he tries to make sense of his external circumstances. Büchner’s Woyzeck was a German soldier in the 1800s but in this version Woyzeck is a migrant worker in 1956 Johannesburg, a landscape of barren industrialisation.

TOUR SCHEDULE

Warwick Arts Centre
Tuesday 11 – Saturday 15 October

Belfast Festival
Tuesday 18 – Saturday 22 October

Wales Millennium Centre
Tuesday 25 – Wednesday 26 October

Aberwystwyth Arts Centre
Friday 28 – Saturday 29 October

Hall for Cornwall
Tuesday 1– Wednesday 2 November

Exeter Northcott
Friday 4 – Saturday 5 November

Oxford Playhouse
Tuesday 8 – Saturday 12 November

Photos by Roy Tan.

Mark Rylance wins a Best Actor Tony for Jerusalem. Photo: CBS

The Book of Mormon, which has proved an unlikely smash-hit on Broadway, swept the awards with 9 wins out of its 14 nominations, including Best New Musical, and Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score for its authors Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park, and Robert Lopez.

Neil Patrick Harris hosted a fun and unusually irreverent night, which opened with a tongue-in-cheek “did they really say that?” song-and-dance number, arguing that the range of Broadway shows on offer meant that the Great White Way was no longer “just for gays”.

The National Theatre’s production of War Horse, which is currently running at the New London Theatre in London and also at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in New York, won 5 awards including Best Play for author Nick Stafford, Best Direction of a Play for Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, Best Scenic Design of a Play for Rae Smith, Best Lighting Design of a Play for Paule Constable and Best Sound Design of a Play for Christopher Shutt. A special Tony Award was also given to the Handspring Puppet Company, who have produced the life-size horse puppets for the show.

Neil Patrick Harris presented this year's awards

Other big winners last night included two revivals, Anything Goes, which won 3 awards including Best Revival of a Musical and Larry Kramer’s 1985 hit The Normal Heart, which also won 3 awards including Best Revival of a Play.

Big name stars who brought home awards included our very own Mark Rylance, who beat Al Pacino for the Best Actor in a Play award for his bravado performance in Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem, his second Tony awards following his 2008 win for Boeing-Boeing, Ellen Barkin in The Normal Heart, and Frances McDormand winning Best Actress in a Play for Good People.

The most impassioned acceptance speech of the night came from AIDS activist Larry Kramer, whose play The Normal Heart scooped 3 awards and who said: “I could not have written it had not so many of us so needlessly died.. Learn from it, and carry on the fight. Let them know that we are a very special people, an exceptional people. And that our day will come.”

Brits who were nominated but missed out on awards this year included Jerusalem author Jez Butterworth, Joanna Lumley and costume designer Mark Thompson for La Bete, Kneehigh’s production of Noel Coward’s Brief Encounter and its leading lady Hannah Yelland, Vanessa Redgrave for Driving Miss Daisy, Adam Godley for Anything Goes, Brian Bedford for The Importance of Being Earnest and Tom Stoppard’s play Arcadia.

The awards were broadcast live by CBS in the States.

See the full list of 2011 Tony Award winners here.

LINKS

Tony Award winners 2011
Tony Award nominations 2011
Book tickets to Broadway shows

Matthew Broderick and Anika Noni Rose present the Tony nominations

A number of high-profile UK shows or London transfers did well in the nominations with the National Theatre’s War Horse and the Royal Court’s Jerusalem both running for Best Play.

Jerusalem was also nominated for six other awards including Mark Rylance for leading actor in a play, Mackenzie Crook for featured actor in a play, lighting design, scenic design and sound design.

Author of the play, Jez Butterworth, said: “I’m so thrilled that it’s working so well in the States. The Music Box Theatre is the most beautiful space I’ve been in. Being on Broadway is totally new experience for me, and I love that the atmosphere is so intimate.”

War Horse also received nominations for direction, scenic design, lighting design and sound design, and the creators of the puppets for the show, Handspring Puppet Company, will also receive a Special Tony Award.

Other London transfers nominated for awards include La Bete, which picked up nominations for Joanna Lumley and costume designer Mark Thompson, Kneehigh’s production of Noel Coward’s Brief Encounter, with two nominations including best performance by an actress in a leading role for Hannah Yelland, and Sister Act the Musical, which had its world premiere in London, and received five nominations including best performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical for Patina Miller.

Other Brits up for awards include Vanessa Redgrave for her performance in Driving Miss Daisy, Adam Godley for Anything Goes, Brian Bedford for The Importance of Being Earnest and Tom Stoppard’s play Arcadia is competing in the best revival of a play category. He told BroadwayWorld that, “I feel pretty remarkable… The nomination for Best Revival is a deserved compliment to David Leveaux who directed Arcadia and to an exceptional company of actors.”

Daniel Radcliffe failed to secure a nomination for his starring role in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, although the revival did get eight nods including best revival of a musical, best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical for John Larroquette and actress for Tammy Blanchard, plus best direction and choreography nods for Rob Ashford, who is currently busy directing the London production of Shrek The Musical.

Big winners in the nominations were new musical The Book of Mormon by South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, which received 14 nominations, the most of any show, The Scottsboro Boys with 12 nods and Anything Goes with nine nominations.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert received two nominations including Sydney and London star of the show Tony Sheldon for best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical. He said: “It’s extraordinary and so nice. I’ve been from the show since the first workshop, building the character. I’ve had so much input onto the show and my character and I feel so emotionally invested in the production”.

The awards will be presented on Sunday 12 June in a three hour live ceremony broadcast by CBS in the States.

LINKS

Tony Award nominations 2011
New York Times Tony nominations analysis
Book tickets to Broadway shows

Now in its fifth year, Nick Stafford’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s book has been playing to packed houses at the New London Theatre where the production has recently welcomed its 1 millionth visitor. In 2010 War Horse played to 97% capacity throughout the year and repeatedly broke the record for the highest weekly gross for a play in the West End. On 15 March this year previews will begin for the Broadway production of War Horse at the Vivien Beaumont Theatre at the Lincoln Center, with opening night scheduled for 14 April 2011. A further production is due to open in February 2012 at the Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto.

At the outbreak of World War One, Joey, young Albert’s beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France. He’s soon caught up in enemy fire, and fate takes him on an extraordinary odyssey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man’s land. But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to find him and bring him home.

Directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, War Horse is designed by Rae Smith, with puppet design and fabrication by Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler for Handspring Puppet Company, lighting by Paule Constable, and movement and horse choreography by Toby Sedgwick; the puppetry directors are Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler, with video design by Leo Warner and Mark Grimmer, songmaker John Tams, music by Adrian Sutton and sound by Christopher Shutt.

Nicola Stephenson is best known on television for playing Nurse Julie Fitzjohn in the long running BBC drama Holby City and Suzie Davidson in the BBC’s Clocking Off. She has also appeared on television in Law and Order, Larkrise to Candleford, Superstorm, The Chase, Northern Lights, Legless, Waking the Dead, Dead Man Weds, The Hitch, Without You, Big Bad World, My Wonderful Life, Wokenwell, Out of the Blue and Brookside. Her theatre credits include Edmund and His Girl Friday for the National Theatre and A Patriot for Me for the Royal Shakespeare Company and on film her credits include All in the Game, The Walk, Christmas Lights, State of the Party, Go Back Out and The Rainbow.

As well as his extensive theatre career, Patrick Robinson is best known on television for playing Nurse Martin ‘Ash’ Ashford in the long-running BBC medical drama Casualty as well as Detective Constable Jacob Banks in ITV’s The Bill. His many theatre credits include Mappa Mundi for the National Theatre, Much Ado About Nothing, King John, King Lear, Richard III, All God’s Children Got Wings, The Great White Hope, Class Enemy, and Romeo and Juliet for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Rough Crossings for Headlong, Gem of the Ocean and Guantanamo for the Tricycle Theatre, Festen for the Almeida Theatre and in the West End and Dangerous Corner for West Yorkshire Playhouse and West End. His other television credits include Tracy Beaker, Who Dares Wins, Daylight Robbery, Julius Caesar, Troublemakers and Total Eclipse. His film credits include Belly of the Beast in which he played opposite Steven Seagal, as well as The Bee Stung Wasp, Monument, Driven and Four Days to Zero.

From 9 March the West End cast comprises Stuart Angell (Joey/Topthorn heart), Nigel Betts (Arthur Narracott/Sgt. Thunder), Nicholas Bishop (Captain Nicholls), Joshua Blake (John Greig), Hannah Boyde (Annie Gilbert), Pascale Burgess (Paulette), Ellie Burrow (Baby Joeyheart/hind) Emily Cooper (Joey/ Topthorn hind/Goose), Matt Costain (Topthorn hind), Ewen Cummins (Chapman Carter/Colonel Strauss/Soldat Schmidt), Danny Dalton (David Taylor), Salvatore D’Aquila (Klebb/Sentry Shaw), Matthew Forbes (Joeyhind), Thomas Goodridge (Joey/Topthorn hind), David Grewcock (Joey/Topthorn head), Stephen Harper (Joey/Topthorn head/Goose/Geordie), Christian Jenner (Dr Schweyk/Heine heart/Sgt. Fine), Curtis Jordan (Topthorn head/Goose), Nicolas Karimi (Topthorn heart/Geordie), Sarah Mardel (Baby Joey head/Emilie), Shaun McKee (Joey/Topthorn heart/Geordie), Jack Monaghan (Albert Narracott), Jack Parker (Baby Joey heart/hind/Coco heart), Malcolm Ridley (Sgt.Allan/Schnabel/Manfred), Patrick Robinson (Friedrich Muller), Ruth Rogers (Joeyhead), Saul Rose (Songman), Mat Ruttle (Bone/Heine hind), William Rycroft (Captain Stewart/Rudi), Eliot Short (Fiddler), Anthony Shuster (Priest/Karl/Vet Martin), Nicola Stephenson (Rose Narracott), David Walmesley (Billy Narracott/Coco hind/Ludwig), Andy Williams (Ted Narracott) and Thomas Wilton (Joeyheart).

War Horse is produced in the West End by the National Theatre and National Angels.

Release issued by: Premier PR

LINKS

Book tickets to War Horse at the New London Theatre

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Set and Design Winners

Best Set Design

2011 The White Guard designed by Bunny Christie
2010 Jerusalem designed by Ultz
2009 August: Osage County designed by Todd Rosenthal
2008 Rae Smith and the Handspring Puppet Company for War Horse
2007 Sunday In The Park With George, designed by David Farley and Timothy Bird
2006 Hedda Gabler designed by Rob Howell
2005 His Dark Materials designed by Giles Cadle
2004 Hitchcock Blonde designed by William Dudley
2003 A Streetcar Named Desire designed by Bunny Christie

Best Set Designer

2002 Tim Hatley for Humble Boy and Private Lives
2001 William Dudley for All My Sons
2000 Rob Howell for Richard III, Troilus and Cressida and Vassa
1999 Anthony Ward for Oklahoma!
1998 Tim Goodchild for Three Hours After Marriage
1997 Tim Hatley for Stanley
1996 John Napier for Burning Blue
1995 Stephen Brimson Lewis for Design for Living and Les Parents Terribles
1994 Mark Thompson for Hysteria
1993 Ian MacNeil for An Inspector Calls
1992 Mark Thompson for The Comedy Of Errors
1991 Mark Thompson for The Wind In The Willows

Designer of the Year

1989/90Bob Crowley for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hedda Gabler, Ghetto and The Plantagenets
1988 Richard Hudson for his season at The Old Vic
1987 Lucio Fanti (with Design Team) for The Hairy Ape
1986 William Dudley for Futurists, Kafka’s Dick and The Merry Wives Of Windsor
1985 William Dudley for The Mysteries and The Critics
1984 John Gunter for Wild Honey
1983 Ralph Koltai for Cyrano De Bergerac
1982 John Gunter for Guys And Dolls
1981 Carl Toms for The Provok’d Wife
1980 John Napier and Dermot Hayes for Nicholas Nickleby
1979 William Dudley for Undiscovered Country
1978 Ralph Koltai for Brand
1977 John Napier for King Lear
1976 Farrah for Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2) and Henry V