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Dateline: 11th October, 2005
The Royal Shakespeare Company has announced casting for the first two plays in its winter season at Stratford, Great Expectations and The Canterbury Tales. Great ExpectationsDeclan Donnellan, who directs, says, “Great Expectations has always been my favourite novel. First and foremost, it is a tremendous yarn, a mystery thriller and also a poetic epic. It deals with our 'expectations', our aspirations that make us human, make us noble and make us miserable. It is a story that brings out the adult in each of us, and also the child in each of us."
Mark Wells plays the orphaned Pip. Mark graduated from RADA in 2002 and has since had roles in Hamburg (Southwark), Games People Play (Edinburgh Festival) and Hamlet (Los Angeles) as well as recently playing Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (Nuffield, Southampton).
Sian Phillips makes her Stratford debut at the RSC as Miss Havisham after previous performances at the Aldwych Theatre for the company in 1960 in The Duchess of Malfi (Julia), and as Bertha in Ondine in 1961. Her long and varied career spans television, film and radio as well as theatre, most recently including The Dark (Donmar, 2004).
Neve McIntosh also makes her RST debut as the beautiful but dangerous Estella. Neve last performed at the RSC playing the title role of Victoria in David Greig’s play in The Pit theatre London in 2000. She is probably best known for her role as the dysfunctional Fuchsia Groan in BBC TV’s Ghormanghast (1999).
The cast also includes: Tobias Beer (Mr Hubble), Richard Bremmer (Jaggers), Philip Cumbus (Bentley Drummle), Gwendoline Christie (Mrs Hubble), Sophie Duval (Mrs Joe), Julius D’Silva (Pumblechook), Brian Doherty (Joe Gargery), Ruth Everett (Molly), Robert Hastie (Orlick), Emma Lowndes (Biddy), Philip McGinley (Startup), Adam Newsome (Compeyson), Samuel Roukin (Herbert Pocket), Roger Sloman (Magwitch) and Jem Wall (Wemmick).
The production is designed by Nick Ormerod, music by Catherine Jays, and sound by Gregory Clarke. The production is lit by Judith Greenwood, with movement by Jane Gibson – Judith and Jane are both Associate Directors of Cheek by Jowl. The production previews at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from Friday 25th November and opens on Tuesday 6th December. It runs until Saturday 4th February 2006. The Canterbury TalesThe new adaptation by Mike Poulton is directed by Gregory Doran, Rebecca Gatward and Jonathan Munby and previews from Wednesday 16th November. Opening night is Thursday 8th December and it runs until Saturday 4th February 2006. This will be the first time the Company has presented Chaucer and the first ever major production of all 23 tales. Gregory Doran says, “There’s an epic scale to Chaucer’s Tales, which feels right for the RSC. They contain all the different characters you see in everyday life, and, just as in Shakespeare’s plays, the whole of humanity is there.
“We’re setting the Tales in the medieval world, taking inspiration from the Ellesmere Chaucer illuminated manuscripts. These were produced shortly after Chaucer’s death, and feature twenty-three beautiful portraits of the 23 pilgrims who tell the Tales. The costumes will look very much like these portraits - jewel-like in colour with bright blues, reds and greens.
“The Tales are told on a journey set out on the road, so we’re using what looks like grass as our floor. The Tales contain so much - medieval jousts, windmills, bottoms through windows, shipwrecks, all sorts of things – that we’ll be staging them in quite a simple, unfussy way so that the momentum of the stories is not broken.”
Doran is joined by two young directors: Rebecca Gatward and Jonathan Munby.
Rebecca Gatward directed a large scale community production of Seneca’s Thyestes for the RSC in 2003 at The Other Place, and has worked as assistant director on numerous RSC productions. She is an Associate Artist of Shared Experience, for whom she has directed The Magic Toyshop, and was an Associate Director for the Gate Theatre, where productions included Joanna Laurens’ The Three Birds.
Jonathan Munby has worked at the RSC as an assistant director on Gregory Doran’s productions of King John, Jubilee and Macbeth. He also directed his own production of Lope de Vega’s Madness in Valencia for the company. Jonathan has worked extensively at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury, where productions include Tartuffe, The Venetian Twins and Dancing at Lughnasa.
The Tales will be adapted by Mike Poulton, who last worked with Gregory Doran on his production of the York Mystery plays. His other work includes the recent critically acclaimed adaptation of Friedrich Schiller’s Don Carlos with Derek Jacobi (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield and Gielgud Theatre, London) and Fortune’s Fool which won seven major awards on Broadway including two Tonys.
Gregory Doran says of the adaptation, “Mike has gone back to Chaucer’s original and started from scratch, so this is an entirely redeveloped piece. Mike’s very much giving us a flavour of the old Middle English, but making it absolutely accessible and understandable to a modern audience.”
The Canterbury Tales will form the RSC’s mobile auditorium tour for 2006. From February 2006 the RSC will visit leisure centres in England and Scotland transforming empty sports halls into fully operational professional theatres, giving audiences exactly the same experience as those who see the production in the Swan. The production will also play the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, USA in April 2006.
Paola Dionisotti makes a welcome return to the company to play the Prioress. She last appeared with the RSC in 1998 in Tennessee Williams’ Camino Real. Other RSC credits include Isabella in Measure for Measure, and Kate in The Taming of the Shrew. Her extensive theatre work includes seasons at the National Theatre, and many television appearances in shows such as The Monocled Mutineer, House of Elliot, Peak Practice and Maisie Raine.
The exuberant Wife of Bath will be played by Claire Benedict, who was last seen by RSC audiences in The Island Princess, The Malcontent and Eastward Ho!, which formed part of the award-winning Jacobean season. Other theatre credits include Fix Up (National Theatre), The Tempest (West Yorkshire Playhouse) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (English Shakespeare Company). On screen Claire has appeared in The Lenny Henry Show, Dream Team and Prime Suspect.
Appearing as Chaucer is Mark Hadfield, who has appeared in numerous RSC productions, most recently as Feste in Twelfth Night in 2001. Mark’s film work includes Kenneth Branagh’s In The Bleak Midwinter and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
The cast also includes: Nick Barber (Palamon), Daon Broni (Arcita), Dylan Charles (Pardoner), Lisa Ellis (Alison), Christopher Godwin (Reeve), Michael Hadley (Franklin), Anna Hewson (Merchant’s Wife), Edward Hughes (Nicholas), Michael Jibson (Absolon), Michael Matus (Monk), Barry McCarthy (Host), Chu Omabala (King Aellah), Ian Pirie (Shipman), Joshua Richards (Miller), Christopher Saul (The Knight), Katherine Tozer (Hippolyta) and Darren Tunstall (Cook).
Movement is by Michael Ashcroft, music by Adrian Lee, fights by Terry King, lighting by Wayne Dowdeswell and sound by Jeremy Dunn.
Tales included in Part 1 are The Knight's Tale, The Miller's Tale, The Reeve's Tale, The Cook's Tale, The Man of Law's Tale, The Shipman's Tale, The Prioress's Tale and Chaucer's Tale of Sir Thopas. In Part 2, the tales are The Nun’s Priest's Tale, The Physician's Tale, The Pardoner's Tale, The Wife of Bath's Tale, The Friar's Tale, The Clerk of Oxenford's Tale, The Merchant's Tale, The Squire's Tale, The Franklin's Tale and The Manciple's Tale. Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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