Having been appointed Rose Theatre’s artistic director in January 2020, Christopher Haydon was prevented from announcing his inaugural season until now due to Covid-19. With an emphasis on the female voice, the season will include five Rose Original productions – including two world premieres and a new version of an epic Brechtian masterpiece.
‘Hard not to be impressed’: MY BRILLIANT FRIEND – National Theatre
Melly Still’s reworking of April De Angelis’ adaptation of My Brilliant Friend gives the show both a flowing and episodic quality as the interior monologue of the protagonist in the books is replaced by fully dramatised scenes.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin at the Harold Pinter Theatre
Discover what the critics made of the stage adaptation of Louis de Bernières’ novel, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin at the Harold Pinter Theatre.
‘Sweet, but also a bit too sticky’: CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN – West End ★★★
It seems appropriate that Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, the 1990s beach novel that launched a hundred thousand package holidays to Kefalonia should itself be staged in a lightly air-conditioned theatre that’s currently hotter than Greece.
‘Lacks emotional power’: CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN – Harold Pinter Theatre
The stage adaptation of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis De Bernières’ award-winning book about love in the war-torn Island of Cephalonia, has come to London’s West End after a successful regional tour.
‘The heart & soul is caught with sometimes burning intensity’: CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN – Touring ★★★★
This touring production of Captain’s Corelli’s Mandolin allows aching heartbreak to overcome any nods to cloying sentimentality.
NEWS: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin transfers to the West End
The first major stage production of Louis de Bernières’ best-selling novel Captain Corelli’s Mandolin will transfer to the Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End from 4 July to 31 August 2019 following a hugely successful UK tour. There will be a gala opening night on 10 July.
‘Memorable & playful’: CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN – Touring
Following Melly Still’s moving and visually stunning production of The Lovely Bones last year, I had high hopes for her latest literary adaptation, Louis de Bernières’ Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (1994).
NEWS: First major stage production of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin will tour the UK from April 2019
The first major stage production of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, based on the best-selling novel by Louis de Bernières will tour the UK in 2019, 25 years after the book was first published.
‘One of the best plays I’ve seen this year’: THE LOVELY BONES – Touring
The Lovely Bones is one of the best plays I’ve seen this year. In fact, Melly Still’s vital production is the best page to stage adaptation I’ve seen since Curious Incident.
‘A powerful, hopeful triumph of human love’: THE LOVELY BONES – Touring ★★★★★
Bryony Lavery – no stranger to dangerous topics after her unsettlingly brilliant Frozen – adapts Alice Sebold’s novel The Lovely Bones for this first stage version, directed by Melly Still.
NEWS: Alice Sebold bestseller The Lovely Bones gets stage premiere, adapted by Bryony Lavery
The world premiere of The Lovely Bones, one of the bestselling novels of the 21st century and now adapted for the stage by Bryony Lavery and directed by Melly Still, will open at Royal & Derngate, Northampton on 1 September 2018.
FIRST-LOOK PHOTOS: John Owen-Jones, Noel Sullivan & the 39-strong Tiger Bay cast in action
Tiger Bay the Musical officially receives its world premiere tonight (15 November 2017) at Wales Millennium Centre, where its strictly limited season runs until 25 November 2017 at this iconic Cardiff venue. Check out these first-look production photos of the 39-strong cast, led by West End and Broadway star John Owen-Jones.
LISTEN: Counting down to Tiger Bay musical premiere, starring John Owen-Jones in Cardiff
Less than a month to go until the official world premiere of Tiger Bay the Musical! Specially commissioned by Wales Millennium Centre and with a 39-strong cast led by Welsh musical superstar John Owen-Jones, Tiger Bay has a strictly limited season at Cardiff’s iconic venue from 13 to 25 November 2017, with a press night on 15 November. Catch up on casting and have a listen to sample tracks – then get booking!
CITY OF GLASS – Lyric Hammersmith
City of Glass, the first part of Auster’s New York Trilogy, was first published in 1985. It’s an enjoyably tricksy, postmodern novel in which Daniel Quinn, a detective-story writer, becomes a freelance investigator after answering a mysterious telephone call.
NEWS: Niamh Cusack & Catherine McCormack star in My Brilliant Friend stage premiere, Full cast
Niamh Cusack and Catherine McCormack lead the cast as Lenu and Lila in Rose Theatre Kingston’s world premiere of My Brilliant Friend, a two-part adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan quartet of novels which have become a global literary sensation.
CYMBELINE – Barbican Centre (RSC)
I’ll confess to being unsure how well audiences would take to a play that – on the page at least – is a complete mess with no discernible central plot. Thankfully, director Melly Still and her team have largely kept the story flowing and, with the help of some inspired casting choices, enabled us to be drawn to characters that can all too often be unlikeable.
CYMBELINE – Barbican Centre (RSC)
The first impression of this RSC import to London is messiness. The staging; nipped and tucked from the RSC thrust to the Barbican widescreen. The performances; broad and occasionally unwieldy. The design; confused, clunky and distracting.
NEWS: April De Angelis adapts Elena Ferrante’s Neopolitian novels for stage premiere
Rose Theatre Kingston today announces its new season for 2017. Headlining the season is the world premiere of My Brilliant Friend, a two-part adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan quartet of novels which have become a global literary sensation