Second chance to see Into The Woods

Download service Digital Theatre has released filmed performances of a number of acclaimed West End shows.

The web service is offering theatregoers another chance to see some of the most talked-out and critically acclaimed West End productions of 2010, including Into the Woods, All My Sons and the RSC’s As You Like It.

The Open Air Theatre’s acclaimed production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods proved a big hit for the Regent’s Park venue last summer and starred The Wizard of Oz’s Hannah Waddingham as the Witch and Love Story’s Michael Xavier as the Wolf/Prince.

Howard Davies’ Apollo Theatre production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, which was recently nominated for Best Revival and Best Actor Olivier Awards, featured an all-star cast including David Suchet, Zoe Wanamaker, Stephen Campbell Moore (Clybourne Park) and Jemima Rooper.

Finally, the RSC’s production of As You Like It, which is Digital Theatre’s second collaboration with the RSC, is also available to download. Michael Boyd’s production starred Jonjo O’Neill and Katy Stephens.

Digital Theatre, which charges £6.99 per download,  films live stage performances using multiple camera angles and high-definition technology, and has forged partnerships with a number of major theatre companies including the Almeida Theatre, the English Touring Theatre, the Royal Court, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Young Vic.

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ALL MY SONS

Directed by Howard Davies and designed by William Dudley, the universally acclaimed All My Sons which enjoyed a sell out season at the Apollo Theatre in London’s West End last year, has lighting by Mark Henderson, music by Dominic Muldowney and sound by Paul Groothius. The Laurence Olivier Award winning All My Sons was produced in the West End by Kim Poster for Stanhope Productions and Sonia Friedman Productions, Eric Falkenstein, Robert G. Bartner and Norman Tulchin, Simon Meadon, Dan Frishwasser. Earlier this month it was announced that All My Sons has received two Laurence Olivier Award nominations – Best Revival and Best Actor for David Suchet.

The cast is led by David Suchet as Joe Keller and Zoe Wanamaker as Kate Keller. They are accompanied by Stephen Campbell Moore as Chris, Olivia Darnley as Lydia Lubey, Steven Elder as Dr Jim Bayliss, Claire Hackett as Sue Bayliss, Daniel Lapaine as George Deever, Jemima Rooper as Ann Deever, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Frank Lubey and Ted Allpress as Bert.

AS YOU LIKE IT

Directed by Royal Shakespeare Company Artistic Director Michael Boyd, As You Like It is designed by Tom Piper, lighting by Wolfgang Göbbel, music by John Woolf, sound by Andrew Franks, movement by Struan Leslie and fights by Terry King.

The cast includes Charles Aitken as Oliver, David Carr as Charles the Wrestler, Dyfan Dwyfor as William, Christine Entwisle as Phoebe, Geoffrey Freshwater as Adam/Corin, Mariah Gale as Celia, James Howard as First Lord, Ansu Kabia as Le Beau, Richard Katz as Touchstone, Debbie Korley as Hisperia, Forbes Masson as Jaques, Sandy Neilson as Duke Frederick, Jonjo O’Neill as Orlando, Dharmesh Patel as Lord Amiens, Peter Peverley as Jacques Du Boys/Dennis, Sophie Russell as Audrey, Clarence Smith as Duke Ferdinand, Katy Stephens as Rosalind, James Traherne as Sir Oliver Martext and James Tucker as Silvius.

INTO THE WOODS

Celebrating Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday, the 2010 season at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre closed with Sondheim and Lapine’s 1987 musical Into the Woods co-directed by Timothy Sheader and Liam Steel. With designs by Soutra Gilmour, movement by co-director Liam Steel, musical supervision and direction Gareth Valentine, lighting by Jon Clark, orchestrations by Chris Walker and sound by Mike Walker, Into the Woods became the highest selling single production at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. Earlier this month it was announced that Into the Woods has received two Laurence Olivier Award nominations – Best Musical Revival and Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical for Michael Xavier.

The cast (in order of appearance) comprises Eddie Manning as the The Narrator, Helen Dallimore as Cinderella, Ben Stott as Jack, Mark Hadfield as Baker, Jenna Russell as Baker’s Wife, Gaye Brown as Cinderella’s Stepmother, Amy Ellen Richardson as Florinda, Amy Griffiths as Lucinda, Marilyn Cutts as Jack’s Mother, Beverly Rudd as Little Red Ridinghood, Hannah Waddingham as Witch, Gemma Wardle as Cinderella’s Mother, Billy Boyle as Mysterious Man, Michael Xavier as Wolf and Cinderella’s Prince, Valda Aviks as Grandmother, Alice Fearn as Rapunzel, Simon Thomas as Rapunzel’s Prince, Mark Goldthorp as Steward, Sophie Caton as Snow White/Harp, Marc Antolin as Woodsman, with Judi Dench as the voice of the Giant.

LINKS

VIDEO: Watch a trailer for As You Like It

Digital Theatre

Digital Theatre: William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Stephen Sondheim And James Lapine’s Into The Woods, Arthur Miller’s All My Sons Now Available To Stream And Download

Digital Theatre today (14 February 2011) announces William Shakespeare’s As You Like It – their second collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company; the critically acclaimed Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into The Woods, and the sell out West End production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons as their next three downloadable productions which will also be available to stream from £6.99 at www.digitaltheatre.com. As You Like It will be available from today followed shortly by Into The Woods and All My Sons.

Digital Theatre’s partner theatres are the Almeida Theatre Company, the Bush Theatre, English Touring Theatre, the Gate Theatre, Notting Hill, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre, the Royal Exchange Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Young Vic.

AS YOU LIKE IT

Unable to act on their feelings and forced into exile in the Forest of Arden, lovers Rosalind and Orlando become entangled in a beguiling game of love, lust and mistaken identity. One of Shakespeare’s great comedies, As You Like It subverts the traditional rules of romance. Gender roles nature and politics are confused in a play that reflects on how bewildering yet utterly pleasurable life can be.

Directed by Royal Shakespeare Company Artistic Director Michael Boyd, As You Like It is designed by Tom Piper, lighting by Wolfgang Göbbel, music by John Woolf, sound by Andrew Franks, movement by Struan Leslie and fights by Terry King.

Michael Boyd said: “After completing sold out seasons at Stratford-upon-Avon and the Roundhouse, I am delighted that, with Digital Theatre’s input, the life of As You Like It can be extended. It’s great that audiences who were not able to purchase tickets in the UK will now be able to access our production to watch at their leisure.”

The cast comprises Charles Aitken as Oliver, David Carr as Charles the Wrestler, Dyfan Dwyfor as William, Christine Entwisle as Phoebe, Geoffrey Freshwater as Adam/Corin, Mariah Gale as Celia, James Howard as First Lord, Ansu Kabia as Le Beau, Richard Katz as Touchstone, Debbie Korley as Hisperia, Forbes Masson as Jaques, Sandy Neilson as Duke Frederick, Jonjo O’Neill as Orlando, Dharmesh Patel as Lord Amiens, Peter Peverley as Jacques Du Boys/Dennis, Sophie Russell as Audrey, Clarence Smith as Duke Ferdinand, Katy Stephens as Rosalind, James Traherne as Sir Oliver Martext and James Tucker as Silvius.

INTO THE WOODS

Into the Woods takes the stories of the Brothers Grimm and gives them a dark and humorous twist. The popular tales of Red Ridinghood, Jack (of Beanstalk fame), Cinderella and Rapunzel are interwoven with that of the Baker and his Wife and their quest to have a child. However this re-telling goes beyond ‘happily ever after’ as the familiar characters find themselves in unfamiliar circumstances and hopes and dreams are questioned and revisited.
Celebrating Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday, the 2010 season at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre closed with Sondheim and Lapine’s 1987 musical Into the Woods co-directed by Timothy Sheader and Liam Steel. With designs by Soutra Gilmour, movement by co-director Liam Steel, musical supervision and direction Gareth Valentine, lighting by Jon Clark, orchestrations by Chris Walker and sound by Mike Walker, Into the Woods became the highest selling single production at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. Earlier this month it was announced that Into the Woods has received two Laurence Olivier Award nominations – Best Musical Revival and Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical for Michael Xavier.
The cast (in order of appearance) comprises Eddie Manning as the The Narrator, Helen Dallimore as Cinderella, Ben Stott as Jack, Mark Hadfield as Baker, Jenna Russell as Baker’s Wife, Gaye Brown as Cinderella’s Stepmother, Amy Ellen Richardson as Florinda, Amy Griffiths as Lucinda, Marilyn Cutts as Jack’s Mother, Beverly Rudd as Little Red Ridinghood, Hannah Waddingham as Witch, Gemma Wardle as Cinderella’s Mother, Billy Boyle as Mysterious Man, Michael Xavier as Wolf and Cinderella’s Prince, Valda Aviks as Grandmother, Alice Fearn as Rapunzel, Simon Thomas as Rapunzel’s Prince, Mark Goldthorp as Steward, Sophie Caton as Snow White/Harp, Marc Antolin as Woodsman, with Judi Dench as the voice of the Giant.

ALL MY SONS

All My Sons tells the story of Joe Keller, a successful, middle-aged, self-made man who has done a terrible and tragic thing: during World War II, rushing to meet an order from the Army, he knowingly sold them defective airplane parts which later caused the planes to crash and killed 21 men. He framed his business partner for this crime and engineered his own exoneration; now, his son is about to marry the partner’s daughter, the affair is revisited, and his lie of a life is unravelled.

Directed by Howard Davies and designed by William Dudley, the universally acclaimed All My Sons which enjoyed a sell out season at the Apollo Theatre in London’s West End last year, has lighting by Mark Henderson, music by Dominic Muldowney and sound by Paul Groothius. The Laurence Olivier Award winning All My Sons was produced in the West End by Kim Poster for Stanhope Productions and Sonia Friedman Productions, Eric Falkenstein, Robert G. Bartner and Norman Tulchin, Simon Meadon, Dan Frishwasser. Earlier this month it was announced that All My Sons has received two Laurence Olivier Award nominations – Best Revival and Best Actor for David Suchet.

The cast is led by David Suchet as Joe Keller and Zoe Wanamaker as Kate Keller. They are accompanied by Stephen Campbell Moore as Chris, Olivia Darnley as Lydia Lubey, Steven Elder as Dr Jim Bayliss, Claire Hackett as Sue Bayliss, Daniel Lapaine as George Deever, Jemima Rooper as Ann Deever, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Frank Lubey and Ted Allpress as Bert.

CATALOGUE OF DIGITAL THEATRE PRODUCTIONS:

English Touring Theatre’s Far From The Madding Crowd, an adaptation by Mark Healy from Thomas Hardy, directed by Kate Saxton with a cast including Rebecca O’Mara, Phil Cheadle and Stephen Billington.

The Container, presented in association with The Young Vic and Amnesty International, highlighting the plight of illegal immigrants coming to the UK, written by Clare Bayley, directed by Tom Wright, designed by Naomi Dawson.

Jez Butterworth’s Laurence Oliver Award nominated Parlour Song, directed by Ian Rickson at the Almeida, with a cast comprising Amanda Drew, Andrew Lincoln and Toby Jones.

Kathryn Hunter’s acclaimed one woman show Kafka’s Monkey by Franz Kafka, in an adaptation by Colin Teevan, directed by Walter Meierjohann, which enjoyed a sell-out season at the Young Vic.

Mark Ravenhill’s Over There, part of the Royal Court Theatre’s 2009 Off The Wall season, written by Mark Ravenhill and directed by Ravenhill and Ramin Gray, with a cast of twin brothers Harry Treadaway and Luke Treadaway.

The Royal Shakespeare Company and Told by an Idiot’s The Comedy of Errors, created for schools and family audiences, directed by Paul Hunter. In addition Digital Theatre offer a behind the scenes documentary to download.

Robert Delamere and Tom Shaw launched Digital Theatre in 2009 and to date the site has users from over 120 countries worldwide. With the support of Equity, BECTU and the Musicians Union; Digital Theatre produces theatre productions filmed in front of live audiences for users to stream or download and keep at www.digitaltheatre.com

Digitaltheatre.com has been built with a variety of technologies to provide the user with the best platform for delivery. The entire application is hosted in a secure and scalable environment with servers running the latest Windows and Adobe software. Adobe Rights Management ensures top level digital copyright protection. SSL site encryption provides high-level security guaranteeing the privacy of customer and payment information.

GULF STAGE
In addition to the newest downloads, Digital Theatre is also pleased to announce Gulf Stage, a unique digital project with the British Council in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage (Qatar), and The Cultural Development Centre – a member of the Qatar Foundation. Six original theatre productions from the participating countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council Youth Theatre Festival (GCCYTF, Doha, Qatar 2010) – UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait – were digitally captured alongside a professional development workshop in digital film making, in a pioneering initiative to preserve contemporary Gulf cultural heritage.
The six productions, subtitled into English, along with an accompanying documentary are available to view online for free at digitaltheatre.com/gulfstage
Gulf Stage, Digital Theatre’s first international project, was facilitated by the British Council.

Release issued by: Premier PR

LINKS

Digital Theatre

Me and My Girl to the Shaftesbury?

Casting News: Me and My Girl

Anna Mackmin has announced her cast for the Christmas revival of Me and My Girl at the Sheffield Crucible, opening on 2 December.

Jemima Rooper will star as Sally and Daniel Crossley as Bill in the new version of Noel Gay’s classic show, alongside Miriam Margolyes as the Duchess.

Anna Mackmin, who recently directed Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing at the Old Vic, will be directing her first musical. She is working with scriptwriter Stephen Russell to give the book of the show, which was rewritten by Stephen Fry for the successful 1980s West End production, a bit more sparkle. Choreography will be by Stephen Mear and design by Peter McKintosh.

Jemima Rooper came to prominence in Channel Four drama As If and has had numerous screen and stage roles including her current performance in All My Sons at the Apollo Theatre alongside Zoe Wanamaker and David Suchet.

Daniel Crossley, who is the partner of Sheffield artistic director Daniel Evans, is an accomplished musicals actor having appeared in high-profile shows including Mary Poppins, Chicago, Fosse and last summer’s Hello Dolly! at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park.

The show is widely tipped to head to the West End after its Sheffield run given that it has been 17 years since the Leicester Haymarket Theatre’s production left the Adelphi Theatre in London after 8 years, 3,303 performances and lots of Lambeth walking by the likes of Robert Lindsay and Emma Thompson. The production made a lot of money for all concerned so it’s a canny Daniel Evans, Sheffield’s artistic director, who’s resurrecting it.

LINKS

Me and My Girl – Sheffield Theatres

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All My Sons – Reviews Round-up

A round-up of reviews of All My Sons at the Apollo Theatre in London, starring David Suchet and Zoe Wanamaker.

STAR RATINGS

The Sunday Times

The Independent

The Telegraph

The Guardian

Evening Standard

THE TELEGRAPH

Charles Spencer

IN SUMMARY: This is a stunning production of a modern classic and one that those who see it will never forget.
THE PLAY: This is a play of extraordinary power and emotional depth, and when it is performed as wonderfully as it is here, Miller’s theme of man’s responsibility towards his fellow men feels genuinely noble rather than merely didactic.
THE CAST: The great David Suchet has never been better than he is here as the initially jovial Joe Keller, who seems to shrink within his own body as the chickens come home to roost; Zoë Wanamaker is also outstanding as his wife, clenched with grief and driven almost mad by the lie on which her life is based, and there is terrific support from Stephen Campbell Moore as the honourable surviving son and Jemima Rooper as the girlfriend who delivers the coup de grace.

Read the review

THE GUARDIAN

Michael Billington

IN SUMMARY: Not only is the acting tremendous and every visual detail precise, Davies also makes you realise Miller’s play is a portrait of a society as well as of a flawed individual.
THE PLAY: You could quarrel with Miller’s occasional melodramatic touches, in particular the fiancee’s revelation of a crucial letter she has kept hidden for three years. But the power of the production lies in the stripping away of protective illusion.
THE CAST: David Suchet’s superb Joe is a man who conceals his guilt under a backyard bonhomie… Zoe Wanamaker is no less astonishing as Joe’s wife…. There is fine support from Stephen Campbell Moore as the impossibly idealistic surviving son, and from Jemima Rooper as the tenacious fiancee.
Read the review

EVENING STANDARD

Henry Hitchings

IN SUMMARY: You won’t find better performances in the West End right now than those of David Suchet and Zoë Wanamaker in Howard Davies’s meaty, satisfying production of this 1947 Arthur Miller play.
THE PLAY: Of all Miller’s plays, this one throbs most strongly with the influence of Ibsen. It compellingly charts the relationship between actions and their morbid psychological causes, and there’s a note of Nordic mysticism beneath its richly furbished reality.
THE CAST: There’s excellent work from Stephen Campbell Moore as Joe’s affectionate, attentive son Chris, and from Jemima Rooper, warm and twinkly but soulful as Ann, his brother’s one-time lover and the woman he now aspires to marry. Wanamaker is husky, poised and poignant, a model of tortured seriousness. It’s Suchet, though, who dominates. He invests Joe with a lovely geniality, yet also with gravitas and a wounded, anxious manliness. Every nuance of his performance feels perfectly weighted.
Read the review

THE INDEPENDENT

Paul Taylor

IN SUMMARY: … watching Howard Davies’s emotionally searching, expertly acted revival, you’re persuaded that this is a small price to pay for the play’s fierce moral fervour and the psychological penetration of its insights.
THE PLAY: Miller’s Ibsenite plot occasionally creaks and is marred by certain implausibilities; but while it lasts, you are swept up by the production’s splendid self-conviction.
THE CAST: Zoë Wanamaker is superlative in the role, showing you a woman who is a heartbreaking and deeply unnerving mix of agitated neurosis and indomitable will… David Suchet is on magnificent form as Joe Keller… Stephen Campbell Moore, in a finely judged performance, lets you see, as well as the principled idealism, the aggrieved priggishness of a youth who affects to despise his father’s soiled money without decisively renouncing it.

Read the Review

THE SUNDAY TIMES

Christopher Hart

IN SUMMARY: Along with some excellent acting, we can admire all over again the way in which this family drama also perfectly illustrates how man’s responsibility to his fellow man goes way beyond his family and the domestic economy.
THE PLAY: Act I takes a while to warm up, and there is little hint of the drama to come. You’re reminded here of what Miller’s plays offer and what they don’t: compelling moral drama, rich characterisation, humanity, yes; but no real wildness, madness or mystery.
THE CAST: You’re riveted not least by the acting. David Suchet, as Joe Keller, is magnificent… Less convincing is Zoë Wanamaker, as Kate. Her fragility seems too obvious, and her sudden grief too actorly: arms over the head, animal howl, slow subsidence to the floor… Most compelling of all, though, is Chris, superbly played by Stephen Campbell Moore. Here is a good man who is also fascinating, tormented, passionate, upright and angry, the epitome of the Miller hero, set on doing the right thing and disgusted when others don’t. He is the play’s moral centre, and Moore invests him with all the power and presence to be so.

Read the review

Book tickets to All My Sons at the Apollo Theatre in London