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Save up to £19 on restricted view tickets to THE CHILDREN’S HOUR at the Comedy Theatre in London

Selected Monday to Wednesday performances

The Children’s Hour is one of the most successful plays currently performing in the West End. Ian Rickson’s acclaimed new production of Lillian Hellman’s classic, controversial play stars Hollywood actress Keira Knightley, Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss, Oscar winning actress Ellen Burstyn and much talked-about rising young star Bryony Hannah.

Westendtheatre.com presents a special offer on restricted view tickets to see the show, providing up to £19 off.

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Save up to £19 on restricted view tickets to THE CHILDREN’S HOUR at the Comedy Theatre in London

Selected Monday to Wednesday performances

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Star Interview with Bryony Hannah

People to Watch: Interview with Bryony Hannah, star of The Children’s Hour

Libby Purves in The Times said that she “acts the stars right off the stage”. Charles Spencer in the Telegraph thought her “memorably sly and horrible”. We thought it was time to catch-up with Bryony Hannah, who is currently wowing the West End playing Mary in Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour at the Comedy Theatre in London, alongside Keira Knightley, Elisabeth Moss and Ellen Burstyn.

What was your first theatre experience, as an audience member and on stage?

I saw The Ginger Bread Man and apparently wept at the interval because I thought it was over. My first role was as a sugarplum fairy at playschool. I was terribly shy and would only go on if I could wear my sheriff badge and gun holster.

If someone could only see one musical or play before they die, what should it be?

Gosh that’s an impossible question. Um… well I saw Billy Elliot not long ago and I was awash with emotion. The political backdrop gave the story depth and the imaginative dance sequences were superb. They sang because speaking wasn’t enough anymore.

What’s your favourite West End theatre and why?

Being the home of my West End debut in The Children’s Hour, the Comedy Theatre will now always have a special place in my heart. It’s a lovely warm house, not too overwhelming, and the staff are very friendly too.

The press have made much of how you pulled pints five years ago in a pub and are now a star. Is this implicit snobbery on their part or just a good human-interest story?

I guess every story needs an angle, but most young actors have had to do odd jobs in order to fund their careers; I’m not unique in that way. Working at The Hampshire Bowman was a golden time for me and helped shape who I am today.

What dream acting job would make you feel like you’d made it to the very top of your profession?

The lure of being an actor is that there is no “made it” moment. There is always a challenge to be tackled that you’d rather shy away from. To perhaps one day have been in someone’s mind while they were writing a new play though, that truly would be an honour.

Which do you love best? The first day of rehearsals, the first night of the show or the last night?

They are all pretty nerve wracking occasions to be honest! The first night is always magical though. Swapping cards and little presents gives a festive flavour to the evening. Nerves are always rife but if you can harness that energy and play it through your character it can be an exciting ride.

What would be your profession if you hadn’t chosen the theatre and entertainment industry?

I would have liked to have been either a firewoman or a marine biologist. I think the latter probably stems from watching Free Willy as a kid.

Is it important for an actor to like the characters they play, even if they are perceived as malevolent?

I can’t imagine any other way of approaching a role. That doesn’t mean that your character can’t dislike themselves though. With my character in The Children’s Hour, Mary Tilford, for example, all of her actions do cost her. She’s not gleefully scheming; she’s retaliating to perceived dangers. Hopefully that keeps her plausible and human.

Book tickets to The Children’s Hour at the Comedy Theatre in London

The Children’s Hour – Reviews Round-up

A round-up of reviews of The Children’s Hour at the Comedy Theatre in London

An all-star cast features in Ian Rickson’s revival of Lillian Hellman’s 1930′s play The Children’s Hour at the Comedy Theatre.

The critics are impressed with the star turns put in by Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss and Keira Knightley, but  the superlatives are reserved for newcomer Bryony Hannah, who plays the accuser Mary.

There is critical musing on whether The Children’s Hour is simply not a good enough play, and too much of a melodrama, to be revived and hailed as relevant for our times, but universal praise for Ian Rickson’s accomplished and beautiful production.

See our round ups of the Guardian, Independent, Times, Telegraphy and Daily Mail reviews, below.

Book tickets to The Children’s Hour at the Comedy Theatre in London

LINKS

Photos: The Children’s Hour

News: Ellen Burstyn to make London debut

Official Releases: Final booking for The Children’s Hour

Final Extension To Booking For The Children’s Hour

Ian Rickson’s production of Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour has now extended its run for a second and final time, with bookings being taken at the Comedy Theatre until 7 May 2011.

When a schoolgirl’s whisper spreads, it triggers a chain of events with extraordinary consequences. Karen Wright and Martha Dobie run a girls’ boarding school in 1930s New England, where they become entangled in a devastating story of deceit, shame and courage. Banned in London and several cities across America, The Children’s Hour received its world premiere on Broadway in 1934. Generations on, its potent exploration of a culture of fear remains startlingly relevant.

The cast comprises Lisa Backwell (Evelyn Munn), Isabella Brazier-Jones (Helen Burton), Ellen Burstyn (Mrs Amelia Tilford), Poppy Carter (Janet), Marama Corlett (Lois Fisher), Nancy Crane (Agatha), Amy Dawson (Rosalie Wells), Isabel Ellison (Catherine), Bryony Hannah (Mary Tilford), Carol Kane (Mrs Lily Mortar), Keira Knightley (Karen Wright), Tobias Menzies (Doctor Joseph Cardin), Elisabeth Moss (Martha Dobie), Nathan Nolan (Grocery Boy) and Eve Ponsonby (Peggy Rogers).

The Children’s Hour is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions & Scott Landis and is supported by American Airlines.

Release issued by: Premier PR

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In the West End This Week: Wicked, Oliviers

What’s coming up in the West End this week, including The Wizard of Oz, Wicked, Shoes, the Olivier Awards and The Children’s Hour.

Monday 7 February 2011

A new cast joins Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. Lee Mead said farewell to the company on Saturday night, and a number of new cast members join the show tonight including Mark Evans as Fiyero, Zoë Rainey as Nessarose and Ben Stott as Boq, alongside current stars Rachel Tucker as Elphaba and Louise Dearman as Glinda.

The Olivier Award nominations will be announced today at 11am at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. This year’s awards – which will be presented on 13 March at Drury Lane – promise to have upped the star and glamour quotient and will be televised by the BBC.

The Wizard of Oz starts previews tonight. This mega new production at the London Palladium, rebooted by Jeremy Sams and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Bill Kenwright, sees Over The Rainbow star Danielle Hope join Michael Crawford and Hannah Waddingham.

Tuesday 8 February 2011

A big theatre day! Shoes – the hugely successful Sadler’s Wells show – opens tonight at the Peacock Theatre to give the show a much deserved West End airing.

Million Dollar Quartet, the musical that recreates the historic day when Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis all made music together, starts previews at the Noel Coward Theatre on Tuesday.

Also much deserving is Clybourne Park, which gets its official opening at the Wyndhams Theatre starring Sophie Thompson and Stephen Campbell Moore. Bruce Norris’ satirical comedy, directed by Dominic Cooke for the Royal Court, has been sweeping the boards at various awards including the recent South Bank Sky Arts Awards and the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards.

Also on Tuesday, Showstopper the Improvised Musical begins at the Ambassadors Theatre in London with the the all-singing, all-dancing cast creating a brand new musical from scratch every night in this award-winning production. Plus, the Southwark Playhouse opens its new production of Sondheim’s Company directed by Joe Fredericks.

Wednesday 9 February 2011

The Children’s Hour gets its official opening night at the Comedy Theatre tonight, starring Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men), Keira Knightley and Ellen Burstyn in Lillian Hellman’s controversial play.

Friday 11 February 2011

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee starts previews as the Donmar Warehouse.

And coming up

Next week sees The Woman in Black celebrate its 23rd birthday, having opened in the West End on 15 February 1989. 2011 promises to be a big year for the show, with a brand new movie version of Susan Hill’s classic horror story opening in cinemas starring Daniel Radcliffe.

Photos: The Children’s Hour

Show images for The Children’s Hour at the Comedy Theatre in London, starring Elisabeth Moss, Keira Knightley, Ellen Burstyn, Carol Kane and Tobias Menzies. Photos by Johan Persson.

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New this week: The Children’s Hour

New shows coming to London this week include The Children’s Hour at the Comedy Theatre starring Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss; the Royal Court’s award-winning Clybourne Park to the Wyndham’s Theatre; and Will & Grace star Leslie Jordan in his Trip Down the Pink Carpet.

The Children’s Hour

Lillian Hellman’s classic, controversial play started previews at the Comedy Theatre on Saturday (22 January 2011), with an official opening night on 9 February.

The play is generating much interest but more because of the casting than the subject matter: when the play premiered in 1934 it was swiftly banned in London and Boston for its story of two school mistresses accused of being lesbian lovers by a school girl. Rather, this new production directed by Ian Rickson at the Comedy Theatre is in the papers for its starry casting. Hollywood actress Keira Knightley is back in the venue after her 2009  run in The Misanthrope, and is joined by Elisabeth Moss, aka Peggy from Mad Men, as well as Oscar winning actress Ellen Burstyn.

Ex-Royal Court artistic director Ian Rickson will direct The Children’s Hour, following his huge hit with Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem in 2009.

Book tickets to The Children’s Hour at the Comedy Theatre

Leslie Jordan – My Trip Down The Pink Carpet

Hilarious American actor Leslie Jordan brings his outrageous show to London. Best known for his role in Will & Grace, Jordan tells an entertaining collection of true life stories from small-town USA to the pink carpet of Hollywood.

Self-styled as “the gayest man I know”, Leslie Jordan reveals his childhood agonies, dangerous temptations, and revealing celebrity encounters — from Boy George to George Clooney — in his laugh-out-loud show about Hollywood, fame, addiction, gay culture, and learning to love oneself.

Special offer: Save £18.50 on tickets to Leslie Jordan – My Trip Down The Pink Carpet at the Apollo Theatre

Clybourne Park

The Royal Court brings its Evening Standard award-winning play Clybourne Park into the West End for a limited run.

Bruce Norris’ satirical comedy transfers to the Wyndham’s Theatre from 28 January staring Sophie Thompson and Stephen Campbell Moore, and is directed by Dominic Cooke.

Bruce Norris’s hilarious satire explores the fault line between the worlds of race and property, contrasting late 50′s Chicago to the present day.

Book tickets to Clybourne Park at the Wyndham’s Theatre

COMING SOON

IN ONE WEEK…

Frankenstein starts previews at the National starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller (from 5 February). Lee Mead waves goodbye to Wicked at the Apollo Victoria (5 February).

IN TWO WEEKS…

Shoes the Musical – the hugely successful Sadler’s Wells show – is West End bound at the Peacock Theatre from 8 February. The Children’s Hour gets its official opening night at the Comedy Theatre on 9 February. And The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee starts previews as the Donmar Warehouse from 11 February.

The Children’s Hour at the Comedy Theatre starring Keira Knightley, Elizabeth Moss and Ellen Burstyn

Ian Rickson’s production of Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour is now taking bookings at the Comedy Theatre until 30 April (and not 2 April as previously announced). The Children’s Hour first preview on 22 January and press night on 9 February 2011 remain as originally published.

When a schoolgirl’s whisper spreads, it triggers a chain of events with extraordinary consequences. Karen Wright and Martha Dobie run a girls’ boarding school in 1930s New England, where they become entangled in a devastating story of deceit, shame and courage. Banned in London and several cities across America, The Children’s Hour received its world premiere on Broadway in 1934. Generations on, its potent exploration of a culture of fear remains startlingly relevant.

The cast comprises Lisa Backwell (Evelyn Munn), Isabella Brazier-Jones (Helen Burton), Ellen Burstyn (Mrs Amelia Tilford), Poppy Carter (Janet), Marama Corlett (Lois Fisher), Nancy Crane (Agatha), Amy Dawson (Rosalie Wells), Isabel Ellison (Catherine), Bryony Hannah (Mary Tilford), Carol Kane (Mrs Lily Mortar), Keira Knightley (Karen Wright), Tobias Menzies (Doctor Joseph Cardin), Elizabeth Moss (Martha Dobie), Nathan Nolan (Grocery Boy) and Eve Ponsonby (Peggy Rogers).

The Children’s Hour is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions & Scott Landis.

Release issued by: Premier PR

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Evening Standard Theatre Awards – Shortlist 2010

Awards announced: Sunday 28 November 2010, Savoy Hotel London

BEST ACTOR
Roger Allam Henry IV Parts One and Two (Shakespeare’s Globe)
Rory Kinnear Hamlet (National’s Olivier)/Measure For Measure (Almeida)
David Suchet All My Sons (Apollo)

THE NATASHA RICHARDSON AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS
Nancy Carroll After The Dance (National Lyttelton)
Elena Roger Passion (Donmar Warehouse)
Sheridan Smith Legally Blonde (Savoy)
Sophie Thompson Clybourne Park (Royal Court)

BEST PLAY
Mike Bartlett Cock (Royal Court)
Bruce Norris Clybourne Park (Royal Court)
Roy Williams Sucker Punch (Royal Court)

THE NED SHERRIN AWARD FOR BEST MUSICAL
Legally Blonde Savoy Theatre
Les Misérables Cameron Mackintosh 2010 production at Barbican Theatre
Passion Donmar Warehouse

BEST DIRECTOR
Howard Davies The White Guard (National Lyttelton)/All My Sons (Apollo)
Nicholas Hytner The Habit Of Art (National Lyttelton)/London Assurance (National Olivier)/Hamlet (National Olivier)
Laurie Sansom Beyond The Horizon and Spring Storm (National Cottesloe)
Thea Sharrock After The Dance (National Lyttelton)

BEST DESIGN
Miriam Buether Sucker Punch (Royal Court)/Earthquakes In London (National Cottesloe)
Bunny Christie The White Guard (National Lyttelton)
Christopher Oram Passion (Donmar Warehouse)/Red (Donmar Warehouse)

CHARLES WINTOUR AWARD FOR MOST PROMISING PLAYWRIGHT
DC Moore The Empire (Royal Court)
Nick Payne If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet (Bush)/Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Anya Reiss Spur Of The Moment (Royal Court)

THE MILTON SHULMAN AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING NEWCOMER
Melanie Chisholm for her performance in Blood Brothers (Phoenix)
Daniel Kaluuya for his performance in Sucker Punch (Royal Court)
Isabella Laughland for her performance in Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Shannon Tarbet for her performance in Spur Of The Moment (Royal Court)
You Me Bum Bum Train created by Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd (LEB Building, E2)

THE GOLDEN SEAGULL AWARD
Presented on behalf of Moscow Art Theatre.

THE LEBEDEV SPECIAL AWARD
For outstanding contribution to theatre.

Ellen Burstyn to make London debut

Multi-Oscar nominee Ellen Burstyn to join Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss in The Children’s Hour

Further casting has been announced for The Children’s Hour, previewing at the Comedy Theatre from 22 January 2011.

Joining Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss in Ian Rickson’s new production of Lillian Hellman’s classic, controversial play is American actress Ellen Burstyn, who will make her London stage debut in the production.

Other cast will include well-known US stage and screen star Carol Kane, Bryony Hannah, Tobias Menzies, Nancy Crane, Amy Dawson and Isabel Ellison.

Academy, Tony and BAFTA award-winning actress Ellen Burstyn will play Amelia in the drama. Her long and successful movie and stage career includes six Oscar nominations for movies that include The Exorcist, Same Time Next Year and Requiem for a Dream.

Carol Kane will feature as Lily, and is best known for her appearance in US sitcom Taxi and has enjoyed multiple TV and movie roles, along with high-profile stage performances including Madam Morrible in Wicked on Broadway and in Nora and Delia Ephron’s Love, Loss and What I Wore.

Elisabeth Moss, who plays ambitious young copywriter Peggy Olson in the hit AMC series Mad Men will play Martha Dobie in the play, alongside Keira Knightley as Karen Wright. Elisabeth Moss has performed on stage in the 2008 Broadway revival of David Mamet’s Speed The Plow. Keira Knightley will make a return to the West End after her success in The Misanthrope at the Comedy Theatre earlier this year.

Lillian Hellman’s 1934 play The Children’s Hour, will see Moss and Knightley play two schoolmistresses who run a girl’s boarding school in the 1930s. When a schoolgirl’s whisper spreads, it triggers a chain of events with extraordinary consequences.

The last London production of The Children’s Hour was at the National Theatre in 1994 starring Clare Higgins and Harriet Walter. Movie director William Wyler produced two films based on the play, the first in 1936 which had to adapt the story into a heterosexual love triangle, and again in 1961 starring Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine and James Garner.

Ex-Royal Court artistic director Ian Rickson will direct The Children’s Hour, following his huge hit with Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem in 2009. The play will be produced by Sonia Friedman and Scott Landis and is widely tipped to transfer to Broadway following its West End run.

Book tickets to The Children’s Hour at the Comedy Theatre in London

CAST CREDITS

Ellen Burstyn

Nominated six times for an Oscar for her roles in The Last Picture Show, The Exorcist, Same Time Next Year, Resurrection and Requiem for a Dream, Ellen’s many film credits include Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore for which she won the Best Actress BAFTA as well as the Academy Award. Her more recent film credits include Olivier Stone’s W. in which she played Barbara Bush, Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain and Neil LaBute’s remake of The Wicker Man. She can be seen on screen in the forthcoming The Mighty Macs and Main Street. Her many US theatre credits include Same Time Next Year for which she won the Tony Award, 84 Charing Cross Road, Shirley Valentine and Long Day’s Journey Into Night, as well as Philip Seymour Hoffman’s production of The Little Flower of East Orange for the Public Theater and LAByrinth Theater Company. Burstyn’s television credits include the title role in The People vs. Jean Harris and Pack of Lies, for both which she was Emmy nominated, That’s Life, The Five People You Meet in Heaven and The Book of Daniel.

Carol Kane

Carol Kane is best known on television for playing Simka Dahblitz-Gravas, wife of Latka Gravas, in the hugely popular US sitcom Taxi for which she won two Emmy awards. Her other television credits include regular roles in the American sitcoms All is Forgiven and American Dreamer as well as guest appearances in Chicago Hope, Seinfeld, Pearl, Two and a Half Men and Ugly Betty. Her film roles include Gitl in Hester Street for which she was Academy award-nominated, Allison Portchnik in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, Dog Day Afternoon, The Princess Bride, Scrooged, Addams Family Values, The Pacifier and My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend. She began her professional theatre career in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and has more recently played Madam Morrible in Wicked on Broadway, on tour in the US and in Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Her other theatre credits include The Tempest and Macbeth at the Lincoln Centre Theater and earlier this year she was seen off Broadway in Nora and Delia Ephron’s Love, Loss and What I Wore.

Nancy Crane

Nancy is currently featuring in Design for Living at the Old Vic. Her other theatre credits include Love the Sinner and Angels in America for the National Theatre, Now or Later, The Sweetest Swing in Baseball, Our Late Night and The Strip for the Royal Court, Chains of Dew and Trifles at the Orange Tree, Girl in the Goldfish Bowl and Six Degrees of Separation for Sheffield Theatres and Habitat for Manchester Royal Exchange. On television her credits include Law & Order, Cambridge Spies, Strike Force, The Last Days of Patton and 92 Grosvenor Street. Her film credits include The Special Relationship, The Dark Knight, The Road to Guantanamo, The Machinist and The Fourth Protocol.

Amy Dawson

Amy’s stage credits include That Face for Sheffield Theatres, Edmond for the Theatre Royal Haymarket, I’ll Leave It To You for Pentameters Theatre and Accidental Heroes and School Journey to the Centre of the Early both for the Lyric Hammersmith.

Isabel Ellison

Isabel trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and has recently been seen in Red Bud at the Royal Court Theatre.

Bryony Hannah

Theatre credits for the National Theatre include Earthquakes in London, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, The Pillowman and War Horse. Her other theatre credits include Breathing Irregular for the Gate Theatre, The Winter’s Tale for Headlong, The Crucible for Sheffield Theatres, The 24 Hour Plays for the Old Vic and The Black Sheep at the Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh. On screen her credits include Cemetery Junction and Reversals.

Keira Knightley

Keira Knightley recently starred on stage in Thea Sharrock’s acclaimed production of The Misanthrope at the Comedy Theatre in 2009. Her many film credits include Never Let Me Go which opened the 2010 London Film Festival, Bend It Like Beckham, Love Actually, The Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, King Arthur, The Jacket, Pride and Prejudice, Domino, Silk, Atonement, The Edge of Love, The Duchess, Last Night and the forthcoming London Boulevard and A Dangerous Method. Her television credits include the critically-acclaimed remake of Doctor Zhivago, Oliver and Coming Home.

Tobias Menzies

Tobias is best known for playing Brutus in BBC and HBO’s Rome. On stage his many credits include Edgar in King Lear at the Young Vic, Cloud Nine and Platonov for the Almeida Theatre, The Cherry Orchard for Sheffield Theatres, The History Boys for the National Theatre, the title role in Rupert Goold’s production of Hamlet at the Theatre Royal Northampton and Michael Blakemore’s production of Three Sisters at the Playhouse Theatre. His film credits include Atonement, Pierrepoint, Casino Royale and Anton Chekhov’s The Duel. His further television credits include Spooks, The Deep, Pulling and Persuasion.

Elisabeth Moss

Elisabeth is best known for playing the role of Peggy Olson in the ongoing award-winning television series Mad Men, for which she has received both Emmy Award and SAG Award nominations, as well as for the role of Zoe Bartlett in The West Wing. Moss made her Broadway stage debut in David Mamet’s Speed- the-Plow in 2008. Her film credits include Get Him to the Greek, Did you Hear About the Morgans? and Girl, Interrupted, as well as the forthcoming On the Road and Darling Companion.

Book tickets to The Children’s Hour at the Comedy Theatre in London

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