Dateline 27th February, 2000
Olivier winner to play Hamlet
Simon Russell Beale, who won the award for Best Actor in a Musical at this year's Olivier Awards, is to play Hamlet in a new production at the National Theatre in August.
"Gizza job, Disney," say Honk! creators
Antony Drewe and George Stiles, the creators of the Olivier Award-winning musical Honk!, based on The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen, are hoping that their success at beating Disney's own Lion King in the Oliviers will lead to work with the company. "We've been having a flirtation with the Disney Studios for some time," says Drewe. "Hopefully this will make them sit up and take notice!"
The duo are currrently discussing with Cameron Mackintosh the possibility of reviving one of the previous shows, Just So, based on stories by Rudyard Kipling, which was first produced in 1989.
Golden Nymph for Warriors
The BBC drama series Warriors, about a British peacekeeping unit in Bosnia, has been awarded the Golden Nymph award for the best mini-series at the Monte Carlo Television Festival. The drama, which starred Ioan Gruffudd, has also won the FIPA d'Or drama trophy at the International Festival of Audio-Visual Programmes at Biarritz and the Best Television Drama award from the South Bank Show.
It's the Real Thing for the Side Man
Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing is to transfer with its full West End cast (which includes Jennifer Ehle and Stephen Dillane) to Broadway. American Equity have relaxed their usual opposition to British plays crossing ther Atlantic with their complete casts because Warrne Leight's The Side Man has moved into the West End (the Apollo) with its Broadway cast and Jason Priestley, one of the stars of Beverley Hills 90210.
McCutcheon as Eliza?
Martine McCutcheon, EastEnders actress turned pop star, is rumoured to have been offered the part of Eliza Doolittle in a new production of My Fair Lady at the National next year.
And Plowright as Donna
Another former EastEnders actress, Louise Plowright, who appeared in the soap more than ten years ago, is to take over the lead role of Donna Sheridan in the musical Mamma Mia! on 20th March.
Corelli's stars named
Nicholas Cage and Spanish actress Penelope Cruz are the play the leads in the film version of the best-selling novel Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Berniere. Filming starts in May.