Shakespeare Season - Theatre Royal Drury Lane

[aspieandy]

If there was a sweepstake I'd want Hanks/Julius Caesar.

The whole Jamie Lloyd-Webber thing is going to play havoc with my head.

[zahidf]

Baz quoted the Tempest and said 'mega theatre news' today on deadline, so i guess announcement today!

[alessia]

x.com/DEADLINE/status/1818211455755309467 just seen this, apparently Sigourney Weaver is also involved??

[zahidf]

Sigourney Weaver as Prospero, Tom Hiddlestone and Hayley Atwell in Much Ado about nothing

Tempest Dec 7th to Feb 1st

Much Ado Feb 10th to April 5th

[blamerobots]

The Tempest and Much Ado About Nothing!!

Sigourney Weaver as Prospero... I'm in.

[zahidf]

25,000 seats for key workers/Under 30s/benefit recipients for £25.

[Being Alive]

Well that's how you sell out Drury Lane

[blamerobots]

All kinds of names were bandied about by a few in the know. “Tom Hanks,” someone gleefully told me. Wrong Tom, old boy.

“Margot Robbie,” another boasted.

“It’s so funny. I’ve heard these names, “ said Lloyd, “but no, not true. I mean, I would love to work with Margot Robbie on a play. I think she’s remarkable, isn’t she? And she came to see A Doll’s House that we did with Jessica Chastain. And that would be a dream come true to work with her.”

Hahahaha

[Dave B]

lwtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/the-tempest-sigourney-weaver/

PRIORITY ACCESS: Tuesday 6 August 11AM

GENERAL ONSALE: Wednesday 7 August

[theoracle]

Hayley Atwell will suit Beatrice perfectly.

That being said, I was hoping for less well performed plays. Part of me was hoping for Timon of Athens of Two Noble Kinsman… maybe too slight for Drury Lane

[alessia]

I wonder how much it'll cost for everybody else over 30 and not a key worker. should I start applying for a loan...

[Jon]

I wonder who's playing Miranda and Ariel in The Tempest? Sigourney Weaver is a huge get for JL in addition to the Hiddleston and Atwell.

[vdcni]

Very excited by Weaver and Atwell!

[ilovewemusicals]

There might be Tempests backstage too when Sigourney realises she’s wearing a tracksuit with no scenery and head-pounding music.

[Jon]

No video in either which after R&J is a nice breather.

Interesting he mentioned Margot Robbie but I suspect that'll be for a future project. I suspect JL has a lot of actors on his radar who could draw it audiences but also willing to challenge themselves

[parsley1]

Goodness

How boring

Particularly when the average person doesn’t even understand Shakespeare

Dreadfully dull

[alicechallice]

Jul 30, 2024 9:41:17 GMT parsley1 said:

Goodness

How boring

Particularly when the average person doesn’t even understand Shakespeare

Dreadfully dull

Oh, don't be so harsh!!

I'm sure you're more distinctly average than you give yourself credit for, dear. 

[fluxcapacitor]

Jul 30, 2024 9:37:59 GMT Jon said:

No video in either which after R&J is a nice breather.

Interesting he mentioned Margot Robbie but I suspect that'll be for a future project. I suspect JL has a lot of actors on his radar who could draw it audiences but also willing to challenge themselves

Where have you seen it mentioned (officially!) that there’s no video? I really hope that’s the case. I was excited about this project until I heard it was Jamie Lloyd directing. His recent efforts all feel like the same one trick thrown at everything, whether it works for the piece or not, and I have no interest in a bare-bones Tempest where all the focus has gone on Ariel appearing via screens shot on a bungee rope down the side of the theatre or some other irrelevant nonsense just so he can push boundaries of screen use in the auditorium at the expense of everything else. If he’s actually doing something different - even relevant to the plays! - this time, my interest is piqued again.

[Dave B]

Jul 30, 2024 9:58:17 GMT fluxcapacitor said:

Where have you seen it mentioned (officially!) that there’s no video?

Baz's deadline piece here: deadline.com/2024/07/sigourney-weaver-west-end-tempest-1236026153/

“They’ll be stripped down, but no video. I’m saving all the video energy for Sunset Boulevard on Broadway,” he explained.

[Being Alive]

It's in the article from Baz that they're not using video.

[blamerobots]

If you keep your expectations low there's nothing to be disappointed about...

No video makes me cheer, but I suspect the use in R&J was for almost comedic effect.

[parsley1]

Jul 30, 2024 9:57:52 GMT alicechallice said:

Jul 30, 2024 9:41:17 GMT parsley1 said:

Goodness

How boring

Particularly when the average person doesn’t even understand Shakespeare

Dreadfully dull

Oh, don't be so harsh!!

I'm sure you're more distinctly average than you give yourself credit for, dear. 

Oh if only you knew



Dear

[Jon]

I suspect after he has directed the Shakespeare season, JL will not be directing Shakespeare for a while. I would like to see him revisit The Duchess of Malfi which he directed at the Old Vic or maybe direct The White Devil although I find it interesting he hasn't directed a new play in quite some time.

[oxfordsimon]

When you have a theatre space as grand and epic as TRDL affords creatives, it is wilfully perverse to employ a stripped down aesthetic.

We have few enough productions of Shakespeare with the visual splendour normally associated with that theatre.

You can do full theatrical Shakespeare productions without seeking to replicate the past. There are designers who would love that opportunity.

The pared back look is fine for the Fringe or student theatre when you have no budget. But Drury Lane deserves to be more than a warehouse for chipboard and neutral grey costumes

[blamerobots]

I'm hoping there'll be some scale to the productions and it won't just be facing forward doing nothing.