Great work from Ken Stott and Reece Shearsmith saves a nostalgic drama from wallowing in its own Britishness.
Text of the Day: No Man’s Land
Random and topical thoughts and quotes gathered by My Theatre Mates contributor Aleks Sierz, first published on www.sierz.co.uk.
Celebrating Arnold Wesker at the Royal Court
Yesterday, I was extremely glad to attend the Wesker Celebration, which was organised by playwright David Edgar, professor Pamela Howard and publicist Anne Mayer, at the Royal Court.
NEWS: Sheffield Theatres win big at 2016 UK Theatre Awards
UK Theatre has announced the winners of the UK Theatre Awards 2016 – the only awards to honour outstanding achievement in performing, producing and management in theatres throughout the United Kingdom. Sheffield Theatres is the big winner for its two Crucible musical productions of SHOW BOAT and FLOWERS FOR MRS HARRIS, nabbing five prizes in total.
NO MAN’S LAND – West End
Every once in a while the theatrical planets align to create a pairing of such fine actors that it may well be unmatched for a generation. So it is with Harold Pinter’s absurdist gem No Man’s Land, a work that’s always best played by starry knights.
NO MAN’S LAND – West End
“But you see, its ABOUT being rather bored and baffled. Thats the POINT” said a pleading voice in the interval scuffle. She wasn’t entirely offbeam: Pinter is not everybody’s cup of bitter, clouded tea. But boring it could not be, this revival of one if his best plays from the turbulent 1970’s.
Press Pass: Critics revel in McKellen & Stewart’s No Man’s Land ‘masterclass’
So what happens when two knights of the realm at the top of their game spark off one another in a modern classic? Critics have unanimously revelled in the match-up, with many parallels drawn with the play’s original stars, Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud
NO MAN’S LAND – West End
Revival of Pinter’s 1975 classic is a model of clarity, but raises questions about the validity of modernism.
NEWS: UK Theatre Awards nominations announced, Ian McKellen recognised for Outstanding Contribution
UK Theatre has announced the nominations for the UK Theatre Awards 2016, which celebrate the breadth and depth of outstanding talent and achievement in theatre and the performing arts throughout the United Kingdom, on and off stage. Show Boat, which recently finished its West End run, receives the most nominations for a production (four), while fellow Sheffield Theatres’ musical Flowers for …
NO MAN’S LAND – Touring & West End
There was no real fear of poor execution from two masters of the stage in Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. Their double act, supported by fine work from Owen Teale and Damien Molony lifts this more obscure play into something accessible and enjoyable for even the most Pinter-wary.
COMPETITION: Answer Ian McKellen to win £100 of Theatre Tokens!
To celebrate the release of the Official London Theatre Audio Tour with Ian McKellen, we’ve teamed up with the Society of London Theatre to give away £100 of Theatre Tokens! Theatre Tokens can be redeemed at over 240 venues, including the historic theatres visited in this first-ever immersive walking tour of the West End, voice by six-time Olivier Award winner, Sir Ian McKellen.
7 things I learned about Theatreland from Ian McKellen
I thought I knew Theatreland pretty well… not so! As I found out when I downloaded the Official London Theatre Audio Tour with Ian McKellen. Here are seven interesting titbits I learned en route around the West End with McKellen talking in my ear. There are many more fascinating facts, as well as personal anecdotes from McKellen’s years treading the boards. …
NEWS: Ian McKellen records free audio for Theatreland walking tour
Society of London Theatre has partnered with VoiceMap, the immersive audio walking tour company, to produce the Official London Theatre Audio Tour with Ian McKellen – a free audio guide to the West End. London becomes the stage with the internationally renowned actor, a six-time Olivier Award winner, assuming the role of director and guiding visitors through iconic and lesser-known …
NEWS: Damien Molony joins Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in No Man’s Land
It is announced today that Damien Molony, best known for his roles in BBC’s Being Human and Ripper Street, will play the role of ‘Foster’ in Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land, completing casting for the play. Molony joins the previously announced Ian McKellen as ‘Spooner’, Patrick Stewart as ‘Hirst’ and Owen Teale as ‘Briggs’ in Sean Mathias’ production, which will tour venues across the UK from 3 August prior to a limited engagement at London’s Wyndham’s Theatre from 8 September.
What if every day were #Shakespeare400 and London Marathon?
Snippets of Hamlet, Henry V, As You Like It and Julius Caesar delivered by some of my favourite actors – including Alex Jennings, Michelle Terry, Ashley Zhangazha, Jamie Parker and Will Keen – is an enrichment to any Sunday. Why must it come down this weekend? Why not make it a permanent Bankside installation?
NEWS: Ian McKellen & Patrick Stewart reprise No Man’s Land in West End in Sep, TICKETS ONSALE
Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart are to reunite on stage this year in Harold Pinter’s masterpiece, No Man’s Land which will embark on a UK tour, opening in Sheffield from 3 August, followed by dates in Newcastle, Brighton and Cardiff. The production will then head into London’s West End where it will play a limited 14 week engagement at the Wyndham’s Theatre from 8 September with opening night for press on 20 September. No Man’s Land was first performed at the iconic Wyndham’s Theatre in 1975 with Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, following its premiere at the National Theatre.
MUSE OF FIRE film & competition: Judi Dench, Ian McKellen & Tom Hiddleston on Shakespeare
MUSE OF FIRE – the acclaimed “Shakespeare odyssey” film featuring one dame, eight knights and two friends (actors-turned-documentary makers Dan Poole and Giles Terera) that promises to “change the way you feel about Shakespeare forever!” – is now released on DVD, with lots of DVD extras. And we’re celebrating with some unbelievable giveaways, including Hamlet programmes signed by Benedict Cumberbatch.
Diary of a theatre addict: 11 shows across 8 days – (nearly) all great! A record?
Across the eight days and nights between last Sunday and tonight, I’ll have seen 11 shows, and (excepting tonight which I’ve not seen yet and one of which was a critics’ preview and I’m therefore not in a position to comment publicly on yet), I’ve loved eight out of the nine. That’s an incredible strike record for one week, and one of those runs of great shows that you only dream of. It helps, of course, that I was playing catch up on six of them, so I was in (comparatively) safer hands than going blind to yet-to-be reviewed shows. But there’s also a fear that a show won’t live up to the good reviews youv’e already read and absorbed.
Curse of the character actor? Antony Sher doubted he could play Falstaff
Tonight, Antony Sher opens in the West End in RSC’s transfer of Death of a Salesman. But, as acclaimed as the production is, as important as it is in this centenary year of Arthur Miller’s birth, and as epic a part as the role of life’s underdog Willy Loman (who Sher plays) is, the truth […]