On 13 May, a very important actor took his final bow. Goldoni’s Harlequin, servant to two masters, known in Italy as simply Arlecchino, has seen Ferruccio Soleri in the leading role since 1959. Now, aged 88, he has taken off his chequered costume and black leather commedia dell’arte mask for the last time. Goldoni’s play […]
theatre
Nobel Prize winner Dario Fo dies in Milan at 90
The Nobel Prize winning writer, actor, painter, composer and director died this morning in Milan at the age of 90. He was born on 24 March 1926 in San Giano, a small town on Lago Maggiore in Lombardy in the north of Italy. Performing and writing until a few weeks ago, even with a new television programme […]
David Ashley and the secrets of a pantomime dame
I am a three-bun wig, brown-booted, very large, maternal bosom sort of a gal. David Ashley is talking about his pantomime alter ego which has inhabited him over the Christmas period for 12 seasons. David’s successful West End career and occasional teaching saw a change of emphasis as he hit his forties with teaching taking […]
Meryl Streep to play Maria Callas in HBO’s film of McNally’s Master Class
Meryl Streep will play Maria Callas in a filmed version of Terrence McNally’s play Master Class. New York Post’s Page Six reported that HBO would start filming in January of 2015. Mike Nichols – who directed Streep in Silkwood, Postcards from the Edge and Angels in America – will team up again with the Oscar-laden actress for this project. […]
Milan celebrates one of its most-loved actresses as she turns 80
Giulia Lazzarini, one of Giorgio Strehler’s favourite actress, and for decades a constant presence on the stage of Milan’s famed Piccolo Teatro, is 80 and, rightly, it was at the Piccolo Teatro that her birthday was celebrated this week. Looking ten-years younger, she is continuing to work on stage, and will play the mother in […]
Photos: Baryshnikov and Dafoe in Robert Wilson’s The Old Woman
Robert Wilson’s new creation, The Old Woman, opens at the Manchester International Festival tonight. Mikhail Baryshnikov and Willem Dafoe star. The Independent‘s Sarah Crompton went to Spoleto where the rehearsals took place to talk to the great dancer, who happens to love rehearsing: I respect process more than I actually like to perform. When you start to […]
Portrait of Kevin Spacey as Richard III goes on show in London
A striking new portrait of Kevin Spacey as Richard III will be one of several new works by Jonathan Yeo to be included in a major display of the artist’s work at the National Portrait Gallery this September. The large painting shows Spacey in one of his most acclaimed roles during his tenure as artistic […]
Franca Rame, actress, playwright and wife of Dario Fo, dies at 84
Franca Rame has died in Milan at 84. She was an Italian theatre actress with a talent for comedy, playwright and an outspoken political activist. She was married to Nobel laureate playwright Dario Fo who dedicated his Nobel Prize to her. Rame came from a theatrical family in the north of Italy. After making her theatrical debut in 1951, she met Dario Fo and they married in […]
The Italian Greta Garbo is gone: Rossella Falk dies at 86
Rome, 10 November 1926 – Rome, 5 May 2013 One of the greatest Italian stage actresses has died in Rome at the age of 86. Rossella Falk was a giant among Italian actresses, with a slightly arrogant air and regal poise which set her apart from many of her more earthy colleagues. The label “the Italian Greta Garbo” was well chosen, and […]
Anna Proclemer – powerful Italian stage actress – dies at 89
Anna Proclemer (Trento, 30 May 1923 – Rome, 25 April 2013) One of Italy’s greatest actresses died this morning on the eve of her 90th birthday. Anna Proclemer was primarily a stage animal with a searing presence and powerful voice, allowing her to dominate every stage she stood on. She was a larger-than-life actress, the like of which […]
