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Dateline:
1st May, 2005
Rachel
Corrie to Transfer
The Royal Court production of My
Name Is Rachel Corrie, based on her own writings and edited
by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner, closed on 30th April but has been
such a critical and popular success that it will return in the Autumn
when it will play in the larger Theatre Downstairs. The one-woman piece,
performed by Megan Dodds and directed by Alan Rickman, will run from
11th to 29th October.
Planer to Make Playwriting
Debut
Nigel Planer is to make his debut as a playwright at Birmingham Rep
when his play On the Ceiling, a comedy about the painting of
the Sistine Chapel, runs from 14th to 28th May before transferring to
the West End. It will star Ron Cook and Ralf Little.
Planer first came to public notice in the anarchic TV comedy series
The Young Ones with Ade Edmondson and Rik Mayall and has since
established a career in TV, film and theatre. He played Amos Hart in
Chicago, Che in the original production of Evita and Pop
in We Will Rock You, but has also played in opera (Frosch in
Die Fledermaus for English National Opera) and classical theatre,
appearing in All's Well at Regent's Park.
Gate Goes American
Notting Hill's Gate Theatre is to produce two American plays during
the autumn. From 22nd September (previews from 12th) to 8th October
associate director Daniel Kramer directs a revival of Hair with
a twenty-strong cast, and from 21st November (previews from 16th) to
17th December artistic director Thea Sharrock directs Eugene O'Neil's
little performed 1020 play The Emperor Jones.
Shaw in Bolt Revival
Bill Kenwright is to produce a revival of Robert Bolt's A Man for
All Seasons, the story of the conflict between Thomas More and Henry
VIII in the West End, although no venue has yet been announced. It will
star Martin Shaw as More, the part played by Paul Scofield in the 1966
film version. The production will open at the Theatre Royal, Windsor,
from 5th to 8th October.
The play is also being revived at the Pitlochry Theatre, where it is
running in rep through to October.
Hollywood Comes to the West End - Again!
Yet another Holywood star is to make his West End debut this year. Rob
Lowe (The West Wing, The Outsiders, St. Elmo's Fire)
will appear in A Few Good Men by West Wing writer Aaron
Sorkin at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.
The production runs from 6th September (previews from 18th August)
and is booking until 17th December. The play opened on Broadway in 1989
and was made into a film in 1992.
British Audiences More
Intelligent, Says Kilmer
British audiences are more intelligent than their American counterparts,
Val Kilmer, who is to play in The Postman Always Rings Twice
which opens at the Playhouse in June, told reporters at the press launch
of the production. "They read books," he added, and went on
to say that the standard is deteriorating on Broadway.
"The shows have become more Vegas-like. Theatre here just has
higher standards."
Spamalot
is a Broadway Smash Hit
Eric Idle's musical Spamalot, based on Monty Python and the
Holy Grail, has broken box office records at the Shubert Theatre
on Broadway, taking £473,84 in a single week. The show, which
is sold out for months, has also been nominated for Best Musical of
the 2004-2005 Season by the Drama League and the Outer Critics Circle.
Extending
We Will Rock You (Dominion) has extended its booking period by
six month, to April 2006.
The Woman in Black (Fortune) has extended by twelve months, to
2nd September 2006.
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