Kevin O'Hare faces the possibility of ever more complicated cast changes on the Covent Garden stage when filming of the adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical musical Cats begins as another Royal Ballet dancer is chosen for the movie cast. Soloist Olivia Cowley will be joining her colleagues Francesca Hayward and Steven McRae on the set of Universal Pictures and … [Read more...] about Another Royal Ballet dancer joins the cast of Cats the movie – Olivia Cowley
Judi Dench
Royal Ballet Principal Francesca Hayward to appear in film adaptation of Cats
Francesca Hayward, Principal dancer of The Royal Ballet, has joined the cast of the film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats, which will be directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (The King's Speech, Les Misérables, The Danish Girl). The film has an exceptionally starry cast with Judi Dench as Old Deuteronomy (played by a man in the stage version; Brian … [Read more...] about Royal Ballet Principal Francesca Hayward to appear in film adaptation of Cats
Review: Manon at La Scala with Svetlana Zakharova and Roberto Bolle
While the role of Manon doesn’t represent the pinnacle of acting challenges, it is surely one of the most satisfying. For a dancer who can act it is a gift, with each scene offering a new state to convey: from the young girl playing at flirting, to becoming the joyfully passionate lover (in the first bedroom pas de deux), to the calculating social climber, to the knowingly … [Read more...] about Review: Manon at La Scala with Svetlana Zakharova and Roberto Bolle
Balanchine’s Dream sprinkles its magic fairy dust over La Scala for the last time
In the ‘60s, A Midsummer Night’s Dream was all the rage: Benjamin Britten’s opera premiered in 1960, Balanchine’s ballet opened in 1962, Ashton’s The Dream came along in 1964, and Peter Hall’s film (with future Dames Diana Rigg, Helen Mirren, and Judi Dench, among the cast) was in 1968. It was no passing fad. Both ballets are now set firmly in the repertoire, the opera is … [Read more...] about Balanchine’s Dream sprinkles its magic fairy dust over La Scala for the last time
John Malkovich’s World Theatre Day message
The 50th annual World Theatre Day, which is March 27, will see John Malkovich give the opening address which will make him the first American actor to do so. He will deliver this year's message at the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris on March 22. Jean Cocteau delivered the first World Theatre Day message in 1962, and the list of past World Theatre Day messengers includes Judi … [Read more...] about John Malkovich’s World Theatre Day message
Dame Judi Dench takes bit part in school play
Judi Dench is to be the voice of the giant in the Giggleswick school production of Into the Woods. She delighted pupils at the North Yorkshire boarding school by agreeing to take a part in their school play. Pupils wrote asking her to take part with the cast of 90 schoolchildren. She is patron of the Richard Whiteley Theatre that opened about 18 months ago, set up with money … [Read more...] about Dame Judi Dench takes bit part in school play
Is Anne-Marie Duff the new Judi Dench? Jenny McCartney in The Telegraph makes a good case
Anne-Marie Duff has been wowing the critics in the revival of Terrence Rattigan’s Cause Célèbre at the Old Vic. She plays Alma Rattenbury, a woman at the centre of a criminal trial in 1935, in which she stood accused, along with her jealous teenage lover and chauffeur, George Stoner, of battering her much older husband, Francis Rattenbury, to death with a mallet. Alma … [Read more...] about Is Anne-Marie Duff the new Judi Dench? Jenny McCartney in The Telegraph makes a good case
Here’s James Bond in drag… ah no, it’s Daniel Craig making a serious point
James Bond actor Daniel Craig has dressed in drag for a short film about sexual equality made to coincide with International Women's Day on Tuesday. The film, available on YouTube here is directed by "Nowhere Boy" film maker and artist Sam Taylor-Wood and features the voice of actress Judi Dench in the style of "M," her spymaster character in the Bond movie franchise. The … [Read more...] about Here’s James Bond in drag… ah no, it’s Daniel Craig making a serious point