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Dateline:
13th February, 2005
Spacey Will Play Richard
II
Shakespeare's Richard II will be part of the Old Vic's autumn
season. Directed by Trevor Nunn, the play will feature the theatre's
artistic director, Kevin Spacey, in the title role. No dates have been
announced, nor has any other casting.
When he was apppointed to the job, Spacey said that his first season
would concentrate on new work but that the second and subsequent seasons
would feature classics.
This will be Spacey's first performance in Shakespeare in the UK. However
his first ever performance onstage was in Shakespeare - as a messenger
in the Henry VI plays at the New York Shakespeare Festval in
1981.
Cats
to Return to the West End?
Rumours are rife that Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats may be about
to return to the West End. They were given a little more credibility
last week when the Evenng Standard reported that it will open at the
Cambridge Theatre after the closure of Jerry Springer the Opera.
The controversial musical is due to close on 19th February.
According to the Standard, some of the original cast members have been
approached about reprising their parts, and they are said to include
Bonnie Langford, Elaine Paige and Wayne Sleep. There has been no official
comment from the Really Useful Group either to confirm or deny the rumours.
Birthday Party
in the West End
A West End transfer for the Birmingham Rep production of Pinter's The
Birthday Party has been announced even before it opens in Birmingham.
Starring Henry Goodman and Eileen Atkins with Geoffrey Hutchings, Finbar
Lynch, Sinead Matthews and Paul Ritter, it opens in Birmingham on 11th
March and runs there until 26th. It then goes on to Bath (28th March
to 2nd April) and Malvern (4th to 9th April).
It will open at the West End's Duchess Theatre on 25th April, following
previews from 20th.
The production is directed by Lindsay Posner.
Ball Joins Woman
Early
Michael Ball joined the cast of The
Woman in White on 10th February, more than a week earlier than
the planned date (22nd February). According to the producers, Ball made
such rapid porgress in rehearsal that it was decided to bring his appearnace
forward.
He replaces the ill Michael Crawford as Count Fosco. Crawford is expected
to rejoin the cast in April.
Cigar Saved from
the Censors
The British Board of Film Classification (formerly Censorship) has developed
new guidelines regarding the "promotion or glamorisation of smoking"
but James Bond's cigar in Die Another Day will not be cut, because,
it appears, focus groups found it acceptable.
Extending
The following have extended their booking periods:
Index
A-F
Index G-K
Index L-Q
Index R-Z
News
Archive A-L
News Archive M-Z
Production News Archive
Please note that all three Archive
indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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