National Theatre 2012 Season

The National Theatre of Great Britain is one of the world’s major theatre producing houses, staging over 20 theatre productions a year across three auditoriums – the Olivier, Lyttelton and Cottesloe Theatres – and presenting a mix of new plays and classics, with up to six productions in repertory at any one time.

 

National Theatre 2012 Season

 

13
Set in a dark and magical landscape of singing pensioners, fanatical atheists and imminent apocalypse, more

Can We Talk About This?
DV8′s new production examines how events have reflected and influenced multicultural policies, more

Juno and the Paycock
One of the great plays of the twentieth century, Sean O’Casey’s Juno and the Paycock offers a devastating more

She Stoops to Conquer
One of the great, generous-hearted and ingenious comedies of the English language, Oliver Goldsmith’s more

The Comedy Of Errors
Shakespeare’s furiously paced comedy will be staged in a contemporary world and stars Lenny Henry. more

Travelling Light
Following Vincent in Brixton and The Reporter, Nicholas Wright’s new play is a funny and fascinating more

 

… And now playing in the West End

The Pitmen Painters
Following celebrated seasons at the National Theatre and on Broadway, Lee Hall’s The Pitmen Painters more

War Horse
The National Theatre’s sell out production transfers to the New London Theatre. Life sized puppets depict more

140,000 New Tickets Released For London Production Of War Horse

The National Theatre’s Laurence Olivier award-winning production of War Horse at the New London Theatre has released 140,000 new tickets for sale, taking bookings up to 16 February 2013.

Nick Stafford’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s book has been playing to packed houses at the New London Theatre since March 2009. The Broadway production of War Horse, which recently opened at the Lincoln Center’s Vivien Beaumont Theatre, was the winner of six Tony Awards including a Special Tony Award for Handspring Puppet Company. A further production is due to open in February 2012 at the Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto, with a US tour scheduled to start in Los Angeles in June 2012. Later this year Stephen Spielberg’s film version of War Horse will be released.

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.

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

Tony Award Winners: War Horse, Book of Mormon sweep Tony Awards; Mark Rylance named Best Actor

At a star-studded ceremony last night, Sunday 12 June 2011, at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, the American Theatre Wing’s 65th annual Tony Awards were announced. British play War Horse triumphed at the awards winning 5 gongs, including Best Play. British actor Mark Rylance won a Best Actor awards for his performance in the Royal Court’s Jerusalem.

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.

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

War Horse – 290,000 Tickets Released For Sale In London

MICHAEL MORPURGO’S WEST END HIT GALLOPS INTO OCTOBER 2012

Today, 6 June, the National Theatre’s award-winning production of War Horse at the New London Theatre will release over 290,000 new tickets for sale, taking bookings up to 20 October 2012.

Nick Stafford’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s book has been playing to packed houses at the New London Theatre since March 2009. The Broadway production of War Horse, which recently opened at the Lincoln Center’s Vivien Beaumont Theatre, has won 8 awards as well as being nominated for 5 Tony Awards. In addition Handspring Puppet Company will receive a Special Tony Award at this year’s ceremony on 12 June.

A further production is due to open in February 2012 at the Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto, with a US tour scheduled to start in Los Angeles in June 2012.

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.

The current 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 Joey heart/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’Aquilla (Klebb/Sentry Shaw), Matthew Forbes (Joey hind), Thomas Goodridge (Joey/Topthorn hind), David Grewcock (Joey/Topthorn head), Stephen Harper (Joey/Topthorn head/Goose/Geordie), Christian Jenner (Dr Schweyk/Heine/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), Malcolm Ridley (Sgt.Allan/Schnabel/Manfred), Patrick Robinson (Friedrich Muller), Ruth Rogers (Joey head), Saul Rose (Songman), Mat Ruttle (Bone/Heine), William Rycroft (Captain Stewart/Rudi), Eliot Short (Fiddler), Anthony Shuster (Priest/Karl/Vet Martin), Nicola Stephenson (Rose Narracott), David Walmsley (Billy Narracott/Coco/Ludwig), Andy Williams (Ted Narracott) and Thomas Wilton (Joey heart).

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

Tony Award Nominations Announced: War Horse and Jerusalem compete for Best Play

The American Theatre Wing’s 2011 Tony Award nominations were announced today, Tuesday 3 May 2011. The nominations were presented by Matthew Broderick and Anika Noni Rose from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’s Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center at Lincoln Center in New York.

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

London shows hit Broadway

From London to New York: Priscilla, Sister Act, War Horse and Jerusalem to open on Broadway

Four big West End shows are opening on Broadway in the coming weeks. Priscilla Queen of the Desert is currently in previews at the Palace Theatre on Broadway (and the Palace Theatre, London!), starring Will Swenson as Tick. Swenson appeared in the recent Broadway and London productions of Hair, and is joined in Priscilla by Tony Sheldon, who revisits the role of Bernadette after wowing audiences in Australia and London, and Nick Adams (La Cage Aux Folles) as Adam.

Over at the Broadway Theatre previews start on 24 March for Sister Act, which wings its way to America following a decent run at the London Palladium. The star of the London show, Patina Miller, will reprise her role as nightclub singer Deloris Van Cartier, joined by Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza) as Mother Superior.

Also transferring to Broadway, the National Theatre’s production of War Horse will start previews at the Lincoln Center in New York from 15 March, and the Royal Court’s smash-hit production of Jez Butterworth’s play Jerusalem will play the Music Box theatre from 2 April. The play will feature its Olivier Award-winning London star Mark Rylance, who is sure become a major Tony Awards contender for his tour de force performance as Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron.

Book tickets to Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the Palace Theatre, New York

Book tickets to Sister Act at the Broadway Theatre, New York

Book tickets to War Horse at the Lincoln Center in New York

Book tickets to Jerusalem at the Music Box theatre, New York

 

Broadway Theatre Spring Round-up

Our USA round-up of what’s hot on Broadway and beyond, including Daniel Radcliffe in How To Succeed…, transfers of Priscilla and Sister Act, Elaine Paige in Follies and much more.

Catch Me If You Can

Previews begin this week for major new Broadway musical Catch Me If You Can at the Neil Simon Theatre (opens 10 April), based on the Stephen Spielberg movie and the true story that inspired it. The show is led by rising new Broadway star Aaron Tveit (Next to Normal, Wicked) as con-man Frank Abagnale, and also stars Kerry Butler and Norbert Leo Butz. Aaron is featured in this month’s issue of Vanity Fair and there is a real buzz about him. The musical comes from the Hairspray and Love Never Dies creative team of Jack O’Brien (director) and Jerry Mitchell (Choreography), with a book by Terence McNally (The Full Monty), and score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

Spider-Man: Julie out?

The New York Times is reporting that Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark director Julie ‘The Lion King’ Taymor may have to fall on her sword and depart the production if she doesn’t seek help. Apparently the producers of the troubled, multi-million dollar show would like her to work with an expanded creative team to try and bring work on the production to a close – or she may have to leave the show. Other current decisions being made on the show include to what extent the script and music should be overhauled. The five-times rearranged opening night of 15 March now seems almost certain to be… rearranged!

London to Broadway: Priscilla, Sister Act, War Horse, Jerusalem

Four big West End shows are opening on Broadway in the coming weeks. Priscilla Queen of the Desert is currently in previews at the Palace Theatre on Broadway (and the Palace Theatre, London!), starring Will Swenson as Tick. Swenson appeared in the recent Broadway and London productions of Hair, and is joined in Priscilla by Tony Sheldon, who revisits the role of Bernadette after wowing audiences in Australia and London, and Nick Adams (La Cage Aux Folles) as Adam.
Over at the Broadway Theatre previews start on 24 March for Sister Act, which wings its way to America following a decent run at the London Palladium. The star of the London show, Patina Miller, will reprise her role as nightclub singer Deloris Van Cartier, joined by Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza) as Mother Superior.
Also transferring to Broadway, the National Theatre’s production of War Horse will start previews at the Lincoln Center in New York from 15 March, and the Royal Court’s smash-hit production of Jez Butterworth’s play Jerusalem will play the Music Box theatre from 2 April. The play will feature its Olivier Award-winning London star Mark Rylance, who is sure become a major Tony Awards contender for his tour de force performance as Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron.

Daniel Radcliffe in How To Succeed in Business…

Life after Harry Potter is going to be particularly glamorous for Daniel Radcliffe as he is currently starring in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (now in previews, opens 27 March). The show has hit the press recently over rumours that Warner Bros. are furious with the show’s producers for not letting Radcliffe out of performances to promote the final Harry Potter film later in the year.

Elaine Paige in Follies

Not long to go until the Eric Schaeffer revival of Sondheim’s Follies at the Kennedy Center in Washington (7 May – 19 June) starring Bernadette Peters as Sally, Jan Maxwell as Phyllis, Danny Burstein as Buddy, Ron Raines as Benjamin Stone – and our very own Elaine Paige as Carlotta. The casting of Paige caught many off guard (she’s TOO YOUNG you cry!) and it will be interesting to see if Paige turns up in Trevor Nunn’s mooted revival of the show at the Theatre Royal Haymarket later this year.

Hot tip: Gavin Creel in Prometheus Bound

Whilst Hair alumni Will Swenson is camping it up in Priscilla, fellow co-worker Gavin Creel, who also starred with Swenson in the London transfer of Hair, is currently wowing audiences in Prometheus Bound at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass. Rumour mills are buzzing over whether the show might transfer to Broadway. Written by Tony and Grammy Award-winning playwright and lyricist Steven Sater, who scored a huge hit with Spring Awakening on Broadway and less so in London, and with music composed by Grammy Award-winning System of a Down lead singer Serj Tankian, the show is inspired by Aeschylus’s Ancient Greek tragedy.

Stars on Broadway

There’s no shortage of stars turning up on Broadway over the next few weeks, with Frances McDormand having just opened in Good People at the Manhattan Theatre Club, Brian Cox, Chris Noth, Jason Patric and Kiefer Sutherland starring in That Championship Season at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre, Billy Crudup in Arcadia at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (opens 17 March), Robin Williams in Bengal Tiger In The Baghdad Zoo at the Richard Rodgers Theatre from 11 March, Chris Rock in Motherf**Ker With The Hat at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre from 15 March, Kathleen Turner in High at the Booth Theatre from 25 March, Edie Falco, Ben Stiller and Jennifer Jason Leigh in The House of Blue Leaves at the Walter Kerr Theatre from 25 April, and Tyne Daly and Sierra Boggess in Master Class at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre from 24 May. Phew!

LINKS

Book Broadway tickets

Broadway news and gossip

New Cast For London Production Of Michael Morpurgo’s West End Hit War Horse As Show Welcomes Its One Millionth Visitor

From Wednesday 9 March 2011 Nicola Stephenson and Patrick Robinson will join the West End cast of the National Theatre’s hit production of War Horse which is currently taking bookings at the New London Theatre to 18 February 2012. Nicola Stephenson will play Albert’s mother, Rose Narracott, and Patrick Robinson will play German soldier Friedrich Muller.

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

Shows get the movie treatment

A buoyant West End is leading to some big-screen remakes of West End hits.

Twenty-three years after Susan Hill’s terrifying novel The Woman in Black first opened on the London stage, a new movie version is to be distributed in cinemas later this year starring Daniel Radcliffe.

It marks a growing interest in developing big screen projects based on successful stage shows, with movie producers realising the potential of some theatre brands that have built up large and loyal international audiences over long periods of time.

In the last few years successful movie versions of stage hits have proved popular at the box-office including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, Broadway musicals Chicago and Hairspray, and Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd.

The forthcoming The Woman in Black movie version is produced by Hammer Films, the cult British film studio that made stars out of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing with its horror movies such as Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein. Now in post-production, the film has been adapted by Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass), directed by James Watkins (Eden Lake) and also stars a heavy-weight British cast including Daniel Radcliffe, Ciaran Hinds, Janet McTeer and Roger Allam.

Inspired by the creative and box-office success of War Horse, Steven Spielberg has also started work on a big screen adaptation of First World War story. Already an enormous hit for the National Theatre – first at their South Bank home and currently at the New London Theatre – the movie goes back to Michael Morpurgo’s novel and features a screenplay by Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall and Love Actually’s Richard Curtis. Dreamworks, which now sits within Disney, has moved forward the planned release date of the film to 28 December 2011 such is the excitement surrounding the project.

The War Horse movie cast features rising young star Jeremy Irvine as Albert, Benedict Cumberbatch, who is currently starring in Frankenstein at the National Theatre, as Major Stewart, David Thewlis as Lyons and Emily Watson as Albert’s mother. Plus man of the moment Tom Hiddleston – who is also starring in the movie of Terence Rattigan’s The Deep Blue Sea.

A number of new stage-to-screen projects are also in development, including Will Smith’s new movie version of Annie with his daughter Willow, and two Cameron Mackintosh film adaptations: Les Miserables – the world’s longest-running musical, in association with Working Title and Universal, and My Fair Lady. The later is being worked on with Sony and current stars tipped for leads of Eliza and Professor Higgins are Cary Mulligan and Colin Firth.

Also Glee creator Ryan Murphy is rumoured to be working on a remake of the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show – based on the cult stage musical  - following his Rocky Horror homage in the latest series of Glee.

Finally, and perhaps most exciting of all for theatre fans, smash-hit musical Wicked is set for a movie version, with Universal currently scouting for directors to take it on. The musical movie version is not to be confused with the mini-series planned for ABC in the US produced by Salma Hayek and based on the original Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

It is safe to say that stage to screen adaptations will never over shadow the reverse trend of screen-to-stage shows, with a enormous number of current West End and Broadway hits based on movies, including Legally Blonde, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Billy Elliot, Dirty Dancing – and forthcoming shows The Wizard of Oz, Ghost and Shrek.

But new movie adaptations of hit shows, alongside initiatives such as the National Theatre’s live cinema programme and recent cinema screening of the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary concert at the O2, continue to widen the audience and appeal of West End theatre around the world.

LINKS

Book tickets to The Woman in Black at the Fortune Theatre and SAVE £20

Book tickets to War Horse at the New London Theatre

Hammer Films website

The Woman in Black movie Facebook page

War Horse the Movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch, directed by Steven Spielberg

One of Steven Spielberg’s big projects for 2011 is a movie version of War Horse.

Already an enormous hit for the National Theatre – first at their South Bank home and currently at the New London Theatre – the movie goes back to Michael Morpurgo’s novel and features a screenplay by Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall and Love Actually’s Richard Curtis.

Dreamworks, which now sits within Disney, has moved forward the planned release date of the film to 28 December 2011 such is the excitement surrounding the project.

The cast features rising young star Jeremy Irvine as Albert, plus Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch as Major Stewart, who is about to star in Frankenstein at the National Theatre. The movie also includes Tom Hiddleston as Captain Nichols, David Thewlis as Lyons, Emily Watson as Albert’s mother and Patrick Kennedy as Lt. Waverly.

Music comes courtesy of close Spielberg collaborator John Williams (ET, Schindler’s List, Indiana Jones).

CAST

Benedict Cumberbatch as Major Stewart
Tom Hiddleston as Captain Nichols
David Thewlis as Lyons
Emily Watson as Albert’s mother
Toby Kebbell as Geordie
Peter Mullan as Albert’s Father
David Kross as Gunther
Jeremy Irvine as Albert
Niels Arestrup as Grandfather
Geoff Bell as Sgt. Sam Perkins
Sarah Jane O’Neill as French Refugee
Christian Black as British Soldier

Patrick Kennedy as Lt. Waverly
Nicolas Bro as Friedrich
Rainer Bock as Brandt
Michael Koltes as German Lieutenant
Mark Shrimpton as WWI British Lewis Gunner
Michael Kranz as Young German Officer
Pauline Stone as Devon Villager
Peter Benedict as German Officer on the Bridge
Robert Emms as David Lyons
Chris Bowe as Scottish Highlander
Leonhard Carow as Michael (as Leonard Carow)
Celine Buckens as Emilie
Irfan Hussein as Sgt Major Singh

LINKS

Book tickets to War Horse at the New London Theatre

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