Twelfth Night at the Apollo Theatre starring Mark Rylance and Stephen Fry

Mark Rylance stars as Olivia in this all-male production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, directed by Tim Carroll and also featuring Stephen Fry as Malvolio.

Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles reunite

To The Manor Born stars Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles to reunite in new Peter Hall production

Sheridan’s classic comedy The Rivals is set for a new revival this autumn as Sir Peter Hall directs the play at the Theatre Royal Bath before it transfers into the West End.

The show will see the pairing of Penelope Keith, 70, and Peter Bowles, 73, who starred opposite each other in the hit 1979 BBC comedy To The Manor Born.

The play will mark the first time that the veteran actors have appeared together on stage, and will also be the first production in the newly refurbished auditorium of the theatre.

Director Peter Hall will celebrate his 80th birthday on 22 November this year, and has presented a summer season in Bath for the past seven years. In November he will direct a production of Twelfth Night at the National Theatre, where he was director from 1973 to 1988, starring his daughter Rebecca Hall as Viola.

He told the Independent in March that he has no plans to quit directing and hopes to die in the rehearsal room: “I’ll fall over. I hope. I love the job. I spend most of my time in a rehearsal room. To be paid money to spend six weeks of your life in Chekhov’s head is not bad. The theatre is the only place that tells the truth.”

The Rivals will play at the Theatre Royal Bath from 7 to 18 September.

Book tickets to THE RIVALS at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Actress Winners

OLIVIER AWARDS – BEST ACTRESS WINNERS

Best Actress

2012 Ruth Wilson for Anna Christie
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

2012 The Matildas for Matilda The Musical (Sophia Kiely, Kerry Ingram, Cleo Demetriou and Eleanor Worthington Cox)
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

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Actor Winners

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Actor Winners

Best Actor

2012 Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller for Frankenstein
2011 Roger Allam for Henry IV Parts 1 & 2
2010 Mark Rylance for Jerusalem
2009 Derek Jacobi for Twelfth Night
2008 Chiwetel Ejiofor in Othello
2007 Rufus Sewell for Rock ‘N’ Roll
2006 Brian Dennehy for Death Of A Salesman
2005 Richard Griffiths for The History Boys
2004 Matthew Kelly for Of Mice And Men
2003 Simon Russell Beale for Uncle Vanya
2002 Roger Allam for Privates On Parade
2001 Conleth Hill for Stones In His Pockets
2000 Henry Goodman for The Merchant Of Venice
1999 Kevin Spacey for The Iceman Cometh
1998 Ian Holm for King Lear
1997 Antony Sher for Stanley
1996 Alex Jennings for Peer Gynt
1995 David Bamber for My Night With Reg
1994 Mark Rylance for Much Ado About Nothing
1993 Robert Stephens for Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2)
1992 Nigel Hawthorne for The Madness Of George III
1991 Ian McKellen for Richard III
1989/90 Oliver Ford Davies for Racing Demon
1987 Michael Gambon for A View From The Bridge
1986 Albert Finney for Orphans
1985 Antony Sher for Richard III and Torch Song Trilogy

Actor of the Year in a New Play

1988 David Haig for Our Country’s Good
1984 Brian Cox for Rat In The Skull
1983 Jack Shepherd for Glengarry Glen Ross
1982 Ian McDiarmid for lnsignificance
1981 Trevor Eve for Children Of A Lesser God
1980 Roger Rees for Nicholas Nickleby
1979 Ian McKellen for Bent
1978 Tom Conti for Whose Life Is It Anyway?
1977 Michael Bryant for State Of Revolution
1976 Paul Copley for King And Country

Actor of the Year in a Revival

1988 Brian Cox for Titus Andronicus
1984 Ian McKellen for Wild Honey
1983 Derek Jacobi for Cyrano De Bergerac
1982 Stephen Moore for A Doll’s House
1981 Daniel Massey for Man And Superman
1980 Jonathan Pryce for Hamlet
1979 Warren Mitchell for Death Of A Salesman
1978 Alan Howard for Coriolanus
1977 Ian McKellen for Pillars Of The Community
1976 Alan Howard for Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2) and Henry V

Best Actor in a Musical

2012 Bertie Carvel for Matilda The Musical
2011 David Thaxton for Passion
2010 Aneurin Barnard for Spring Awakening
2009 Douglas Hodge for La Cage aux Folles
2008 Michael Ball for Hairspray
2007 Daniel Evans for Sunday In The Park With George
2006 James Lomas, George Maguire and Liam Mower for Billy Elliot – The Musical
2005 Nathan Lane for The Producers
2004 David Bedella for Jerry Springer – The Opera
2003 Alex Jennings for My Fair Lady
2002 Philip Quast for South Pacific
2001 Daniel Evans for Merrily We Roll Along
2000 Simon Russell Beale for Candide
1999 The cast of Kat and The Kings
1998 Philip Quast for The Fix
1997 Robert Lindsay for Oliver!
1996 Adrian Lester for Company
1995 John Gordon Sinclair for She Loves Me
1994 Alun Armstrong for Sweeney Todd
1993 Henry Goodman for Assassins
1992 Alan Bennett for Talking Heads
1991 Philip Quast for Sunday In The Park With George
1989/90 Jonathan Pryce for Miss Saigon
1988 Con O’Neill for Blood Brothers
1987 John Bardon and Emil Wolk for Kiss Me Kate
1986 Michael Crawford for The Phantom Of The Opera
1985 Robert Lindsay for Me And My Girl
1984 Paul Clarkson for The Hired Man
1983 Denis Lawson for Mr. Cinders
1982 Roy Hudd for Underneath The Arches
1981 Michael Crawford for Barnum
1980 Denis Quilley for Sweeney Todd
1979 Anton Rodgers for Songbook

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Supporting Winners

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Supporting Winners

Best Performance in a Supporting Role

2012 Sheridan Smith for Flare Path
2009 Patrick Stewart for Hamlet
2008 Rory Kinnear for The Man Of Mode
2007 Jim Norton for The Seafarer
2006 Noma Dumezweni for A Raisin In The Sun, Young Vic
2005 Amanda Harris for Othello
2004 Warren Mitchell for The Price

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

2011 Michelle Terry for Tribes
2010 Ruth Wilson for A Streetcar Named Desire
2002 Marcia Warren for Humble Boy
2001 Pauline Flanagan for Dolly West’s Kitchen
2000 Patricia Hodge for Money
1997 Deborah Findlay for Stanley
1995 Dora Bryan for The Birthday Party
1994 Helen Burns for The Last Yankee
1993 Barbara Leigh-Hunt for An Inspector Calls
1992 Frances de la Tour for When She Danced
1991 Sara Crowe for Private Lives
1984 Marcia Warren for Stepping Out
1983 Abigail McKern for As You Like It
1982 Anna Massey for The Importance Of Being Earnest
1981 Gwen Watford for Present Laughter
1980 Suzanne Bertish for Nicholas Nickleby
1979 Doreen Mantle for Death Of A Salesman
1978 Elizabeth Spriggs for Love Letters On Blue Paper
1977 Mona Washbourne for Stevie

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

2011 Adrian Scarborough for After the Dance
2010 Eddie Redmayne for Red
2002 Toby Jones for The Play What I Wrote
2001 Ben Daniels for All My Sons
2000 Roger Allam for Money
1997 Trevor Eve for Uncle Vanya
1995 Ken Stott for Broken Glass
1994 Joseph Mydell for Perestroika
1993 Julian Glover for Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2)
1992 Oleg Menshikov for When She Danced
1991 David Bradley for King Lear
1984 Edward Petherbridge for Strange Interlude
1983 Alan Devlin for A Moon For The Misbegotten
1982 David Healy for Guys And Dolls
1981 Joe Melia for Good
1980 David Threlfall for Nicholas Nickleby
1979 Patrick Stewart for Antony And Cleopatra
1978 Robert Eddison for Twelfth Night
1977 Nigel Hawthorne for Privates On Parade

Best Supporting Performance

2003 Essie Davis for A Streetcar Named Desire
1999 Brendan Coyle for The Weir
1998 Sarah Woodward for Tom & Clem
1996 Simon Russell Beale for Volpone
1989/90 Michael Bryant for Hamlet, The Voysey Inheritance and Racing Demon
1988 Eileen Atkins for Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale and Mountain Language
1987 Michael Bryant for King Lear and Antony And Cleopatra
1986 Paul Jesson for The Normal Heart
1985 Imelda Staunton for A Chorus Of Disapproval and The Corn Is Green
1976 Margaret Courtenay for Separate Tables

Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical

2012 Nigel Harman for Shrek The Musical
2011 Jill Halfpenny for Legally Blonde – The Musical
2010 Iwan Rheon for Spring Awakening
2009 Lesli Margherita for Zorro
2008 Tracie Bennett for Hairspray
2007 Sheila Hancock for Cabaret
2006 Celia Imrie for Acorn Antiques – The Musical!
2005 Conleth Hill for The Producers
2004 The Chorus of Jerry Springer – The Opera
2003 Paul Baker for Taboo
2002 Martyn Jacques for Shockheaded Peter
2001 Miles Western for Pageant
2000 Jenny Galloway for Mamma Mia!
1999 Shuler Hensley for Oklahoma!
1998 James Dreyfus for Lady In The Dark
1997 Clive Rowe for Guys And Dolls
1996 Sheila Gish for Company
1995 Tracie Bennett for She Loves Me
1994 Sara Kestelman for Cabaret
1993 Janie Dee for Carousel
1992 Jenny Galloway for The Boys From Syracuse
1991 Karla Burns for Show Boat

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Director Winners

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Director Winners

Best Director

2012 Matthew Warchus for Matilda The Musical
2011 Howard Davies for The White Guard
2010 Rupert Goold for Enron
2009 John Tiffany for Black Watch
2008 Rupert Goold for Macbeth
2007 Dominic Cooke for The Crucible
2006 Richard Eyre for Hedda Gabler
2005 Nicholas Hytner for The History Boys
2004 Michael Grandage for Caligula
2003 Sam Mendes for Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya
2002 Michael Boyd for Henry VI Parts I, II and III and Richard III
2001 Howard Davies for All My Sons
2000 Trevor Nunn for Summerfolk, The Merchant Of Venice and Troilus And Cressida
1999 Howard Davies for The Iceman Cometh
1998 Richard Eyre for King Lear
1997 Des McAnuff for Tommy
1996 Sam Mendes for Company and The Glass Menagerie
1989/90 Michael Bogdanov for The Wars Of The Roses
1988 Deborah Warner for Titus Andronicus
1987 Declan Donnellan for The Cid, Twelfth Night and Macbeth
1986 Bill Alexander for The Merry Wives Of Windsor
1985 Bill Bryden for The Mysteries
1984 Christopher Morahan for Wild Honey
1983 Terry Hands for Cyrano De Bergerac
1982 Richard Eyre for Guys And Dolls
1981 Peter Wood for On the Razzle
1980 Trevor Nunn and John Caird for Nicholas Nickleby
1979 Michael Bogdanov for The Taming Of The Shrew
1978 Terry Hands for Henry VI
1977 Clifford Williams for Wild Oats
1976 Jonathan Miller for The Three Sisters

Best Director of a Play

1995 Declan Donnellan for As You Like It
1994 Stephen Daldry for Machinal
1993 Stephen Daldry for An Inspector Calls
1992 Deborah Warner for Hedda Gabler
1991 David Thacker for Pericles
Best Director of a Musical
1995 Scott Ellis for She Loves Me
1994 Declan Donnellan for Sweeney Todd
1993 Nicholas Hytner for Carousel
1992 Simon Callow for Carmen Jones
1991 Richard Jones for Into The Woods

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Play Winners

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Play Winners

Best New Play

2012 Collaborators by John Hodge
2011 Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris
2010 The Mountaintop
2009 Black Watch by Gregory Burke
2008 A Disappearing Number
2007 Blackbird by David Harrower
2006 On The Shore Of The Wide World by Simon Stephens
2005 The History Boys by Alan Bennett
2004 The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh

The BBC Award for Best New Play

2003 Vincent In Brixton by Nicholas Wright
2002 Jitney by August Wilson
2001 Blue/Orange by Joe Penhall
2000 Goodnight Children Everywhere by Richard Nelson
1999 The Weir by Conor McPherson
1998 Closer by Patrick Marber
1997 Stanley by Pam Gems
1996 Skylight by David Hare
1995 Broken Glass by Arthur Miller
1994 Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
1993 Six Degrees Of Separation by John Guare
1992 Death And The Maiden by Ariel Dorfman
1991 Dancing At Lughnasa by Brian Friel
1989/90 Racing Demon by David Hare
1988 Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker
1987 Serious Money by Caryl Churchill
1986 Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton
1985 Red Noses by Peter Barnes
1984 Benefactors by Michael Frayn
1983 Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet
1982 Another Country by Julian Mitchell
1981 Children Of A Lesser God by Mark Medoff
1980 The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens, adapted by David Edgar
1979 Betrayal by Harold Pinter
1978 Whose Life Is It Anyway? by Brian Clark
1977 The Fire That Consumes by Henry de Montherlant, English version by Vivian Cox with Bernard Miles
1976 Dear Daddy by Denis Cannan

Best Revival

2012 Anna Christie by Eugene O’Neill
2011 After the Dance directed by Terence Rattigan
2010 Cat On A Hot Tin Roof
2009 The Histories
2007 The Crucible by Arthur Miller
2006 Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen in a new version by Richard Eyre
2005 Hamlet by William Shakespeare
2004 Mourning Becomes Electra by Eugene O’Neill
2003 Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare and Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov
1995 As You Like It by William Shakespeare
1994 Machinal by Sophie Treadwell
1993 An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley
1992 Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen
1991 Pericles by William Shakespeare

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Costume Winners

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Costume Winners

Best Costume Design

2012 Crazy For You designed by Peter McKintosh
2011 After the Dance designed by Hildegard Bechtler
2010 Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert – The Musical designed by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner
2009 The Histories designed by Tom Piper and Emma Williams
2008 Vicki Mortimer for The Man Of Mode at the National
2007 The Voysey Inheritance, designed by Alison Chitty at the National Lyttelton
2006 The Dog In The Manger designed by Es Devlin at the Playhouse
2005 All’s Well That Ends Well designed by Deirdre Clancey at the Gielgud
2004 Power designed by Christopher Oram
2003 Twelfth Night designed by Jenny Tirimani

Best Costume Designer

2002 Jenny Beavan for Private Lives
2001 Alison Chitty for Remembrance Of Things Past
2000 Julie Taymor for The Lion King
1999 William Dudley for Amadeus and The London Cuckolds
1998 Tim Goodchild for Three Hours After Marriage
1997 Tim Goodchild for The Relapse
1996 Anthony Ward for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Way Of The World and La Grande Magia
1995 Deirdre Clancy for Love’s Labour’s Lost and A Month In The Country
1994 Gerald Scarfe for An Absolute Turkey
1993 William Dudley for Heartbreak House, Pygmalion and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
1992 Mark Thompson for The Comedy Of Errors
1991 Jasper Conran for The Rehearsal

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Lighting Winners

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Lighting Winners

Best Lighting Design

2012 Frankenstein designed by Bruno Poet
2011 The White Guard designed by Neil Austin
2010 Burnt By The Sun designed by Mark Henderson
2009 The Chalk Garden designed by Paule Constable
2008 Howard Harrison for Macbeth
2007 Sunday In The Park With George designed by Natasha Chivers and Mike Robertson
2006 Don Carlos designed by Paule Constable
2005 His Dark Materials designed by Paule Constable
2004 Pacific Overtures designed by Hugh Vanstone
2003 Bacchai designed by Peter Mumford

Best Lighting Designer

2002 Mark Henderson for A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Playboy of the Western World
2001 Hugh Vanstone for The Cherry Orchard and The Graduate
2000 Mark Henderson for Plenty, Spend Spend Spend, Suddenly Last Summer, The Forest, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Real Thing and Vassa
1999 Hugh Vanstone for The Blue Room and The Unexpected Man
1998 Rick Fisher for Chips With Everything and Lady In The Dark
1997 Chris Parry for Tommy
1996 David Hersey for Burning Blue, The Glass Menagerie and Twelfth Night
1995 Mark Henderson for his work during the year
1994 Rick Fisher for Hysteria, Machinal and Moonlight
1993 Howell Binkley for Kiss Of The Spider Woman
1992 Mark Henderson for Murmuring Judges and Long Day’s Journey Into Night
1991 Jean Kalman for Richard III and White Chameleon

Twelfth Night – Duke of York’s Theatre – Review

Review of Twelfth Night at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London

How much silliness there is in the Christmas and New Year season. Why, Shakespeare himself gives us in the timely ‘Tweflth Night’ (that is, Epiphany or 6th January to us) the fat, farting Sir Toby Belch and the foppish fool, Sir Andrew Aguecheek. In between their antics we are entertained by the muddled romances of twins Viola and Sebastian, who each believe the other dead in a shipwreck. Viola disguises herself as a man in order to serve a certain Duke Orsino; she apparently looks so much like her brother in this guise that no one can tell them apart. Hmm.

But it’s no use applying modern genetic logic to the Bard’s comedies. Even when we are sure of the outcome, it’s always fun to watch Viola – here played by the pleasingly androgynous Nancy Carroll – fall in love with the Duke, only to be sent by him as a messenger to woo the countess Olivia. The exquisite pain of it all!

But all poignancy is counterbalanced by the mirth of mistaken identity. Olivia promptly falls in love with Viola (how odd) and will be doomed to disappointment unless – could it possibly be? – her twin brother turns up and accedes, all bemused, to her desire to marry him.

This RSC production is headlined, at least in the minds of a local audience, by TV star Richard Wilson, cast as the countess’s steward. This is a man full of pomp and ceremony, so that he inevitably falls prey to a wicked practical joke played by Belch and Aguecheek. Persuaded by a fraudulent letter that Olivia secretly loves and admires only him, he adorns himself with cross gartered yellow stockings (as per her supposed tastes in fashion) and fantasises aloud about his future role as consort instead of servant. The two pranksters, meanwhile, hide in the Cubist-styled foliage of a tree to listen and laugh, their heads popping out like so many tourists posing behind comic beachside boards.

This is quite funny, although it has to be said that Wilson, notwithstanding his cut glass accent, lacks the required diction for Shakespearean verse-speaking, so that you have to strain to understand him.

The rest of the cast are, as you might expect, excellent. The erotic frisson between Nancy Carroll and Jo Stone- Fewings as the Duke sustains us throughout with its titillating prospect of hopeless love which will somehow bear fruit, while Alexandra Gilbreath as Olivia is both pretty and pretty determined to have her man. How modern: we love her.

There is live music, merriment and even sword fighting to point up the Bard’s rapier wit. Enjoy.

SUE WEBSTER. Courtesy of This Is London.

Book tickets to see Twelfth Night att he Duke of York’s Theatre in London

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