Howard Brenton News

Hampstead Theatre presents the world premiere of Howard Brenton's latest play Jude, directed by Edward Hall which will be the last production that Edward will direct during his tenure as Artistic Director of Hampstead. Loosely inspired by Thomas Hardy's novel Jude the Obscure, Jude is a modern day tale of unexpected genius and of our struggle to accommodate extraordinary talent. Isabella Nefar stars as Jude alongside Paul Brennen, Merch Husey, Caroline Loncq, Luke MacGregor, Shanaya Rafaat, Anna Savva and Emily Taaffe.

Artistic Director Tom Littler has announced new regional theatre partnerships for Jermyn Street Theatre, and complete casting for his forthcoming production of Pictures of Dorian Gray.

Portland favorites Gretchen Corbett and Sharonlee McLean take the stage beginning May 4 to star in David Hare's The Breath of Life, a two-woman play The Daily Telegraph called "bitingly funny." When Francis Beale (McLean) decides she wants one last word with her ex-husband's ex-lover (Corbett), both women are forced to confront their past, their failed relationships, dashed ideals and the lens through which they choose to view their futures. Ken Rus Schmoll (readings in six of the last ten JAW Festivals at The Armory, productions at Playwrights Horizons and New York Theatre Workshop) will direct.

Hampstead Theatre presents the world premiere of Howard Brenton's latest play Jude, directed by Edward Hall which will be the last production that Edward will direct during his tenure as Artistic Director of Hampstead. Loosely inspired by Thomas Hardy's novel Jude the Obscure, Jude is a modern day tale of unexpected genius and of our struggle to accommodate extraordinary talent.

Hampstead Theatre has announced its next two productions and full casting for Wilderness.

Artistic Director Tom Littler has announced casting for the world premiere of Mary's Babies. Two of Britain's best-known classical actors, Emma Fielding and Katy Stephens, will co-star in Maud Dromgoole's funny and compelling play about family and fertility.

In the summer of 1888, bankrupt and at his wits' end, August Strindberg and his family rented rooms in a ruinous Danish castle called Skovlyst. The castle was also occupied by a young aristocratic woman, her corrupt steward, and a menagerie of exotic animals. That summer, Strindberg wrote two masterpieces of world theatre: his intense tragedy Miss Julie and dark comedy Creditors, the play he regarded as his finest.

Nine Spitfire veterans from Southampton and Portsmouth came face to face with members of the cast from Nuffield Southampton Theatres critically acclaimed play The Shadow Factory at a special after show meeting held on the stage.

You've seen Orange is the New Black. You've seen Locked Up. You've seen Bad Girls. So, what have we got that's different? Well, for one, we've been to prison.

Nuffield Southampton Theatres celebrates the first birthday of its modern city-centre venue with the return of The Shadow Factory; the first show performed at NST City which proved to be a sell-out in 2018.

Mary Barton, a pioneer of fertility treatment, thought her husband was perfect. And doesn't every child deserve the perfect father? So Mary used her husband's sperm to impregnate up to a thousand women, and then burnt all the records. A thousand resulting children, the 'Barton Brood', have no idea about their shared father. Meeting each other. Making friends. Having babies.

The Menier Chocolate Factory today announces a major revival of David Hare's The Bay at Nice. Richard Eyre directs Martin Hutson, Ophelia Lovibond, David Rintoul and Penelope Wilton. The production opens on 19 March, with previews from 14 March, and runs until 4 May. Tickets go on sale to supporters of the Menier on 21 January, with public booking opening at 9am on 28 January.

Full casting has been announced for Trevor Nunn's world premiere production of Harley Ganville-Barker's Agnes Colander, which will receive its first London staging at Jermyn Street Theatre this February. The acclaimed Naomi Frederick will revive her performance of Agnes Colander. Her previous credits include Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare's Globe), The Winslow Boy (Old Vic) and Brief Encounter (Birmingham Rep, West Yorkshire Playhouse and West End). She is joined by Sally Scott (King Charles III - West End and Broadway, King Lear West End), Matthew Flynn (Wild Honey Hampstead Theatre, I am a Walrus Young Vic), Harry Lister-Smith (A Woman of No Importance West End, Posh - West End) and recent LAMDA graduate Cindy-Jane Armbruster.

Director of Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Sam Hodges today announces the full cast for his production of Howard Brenton's The Shadow Factory which returns to celebrate NST City's first anniversary after opening the space with a sell-out run last year. The cast includes Denise Black (Lady Cooper/Ma Dimmock), Bethan Cullinane (Jackie Dimmock), Joe Tracini (Len Gooch) and Michael Fenton Stevens (Lord Beaverbrook) joining returning cast members David Birrell (Fred Dimmock/Hugh Downing), Catherine Cusack (Lil Dimmock/Sylvia Meinster) and Shala Nyx (Polly Stride). The production opens on 1 February, with previews from 30 January, and runs until 2 March.

Following the withdrawal of Hannah Arterton due to filming schedule changes, Jermyn Street Theatre announces today that Kimberly Nixon will star in the stage premiere of Rose Heiney's Original Death Rabbit, the opening production in their PORTRAIT season. The BAFTA Award winning actress will take the role of a young woman who becomes an internet sensation, just as the rest of her life falls apart.

When it premiered at The Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal Bath in the spring of 2018, in a production directed by Trevor Nunn, Harley Granville Barker's Agnes Colander: An Attempt At Life was hailed as a lost masterpiece. Now Nunn's production is to receive its London premiere in a five week run at Jermyn Street Theatre opening in February as part of their PORTRAIT season.

Director of Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Samuel Hodges, today announces the company's Spring and Summer 2019 season.

Jermyn Street Theatre announces today that Hannah Arterton will star in the stage premiere of Rose Heiney's Original Death Rabbit, the opening production in The PORTRAIT season. Hannah, who can currently be seen playing a leading role in Safe (Netflix/Canal+/Red Productions) and whose recent television credits include The Five (Sky/Red Productions) and Versailles (Canal+/BBC), will take the role of a young woman who becomes an internet sensation, just as the rest of her life falls apart.

It's 1828. In the dank, mist shrouded streets of Edinburgh two enterprising men go about their business. Their goal is to make money by whatever means necessary. William Burke and William Hare are about to hit upon the perfect scheme. The first rule of commerce? Supply and demand. In the leading city for medical research, there's a huge demand for bodies and inconveniently people aren't dying in enough numbers to meet the need. The profitable solution? Murder, of course. As the infamous pair flourish in their new careers, the more they murder, the less they care. But for how long will they get away with it? How long will they go on making a killing?

Jermyn Street Theatre launches into its 25th anniversary year with a season of work that brings together celebrated theatrical figures Trevor Nunn and Howard Brenton with a rich array of exciting new talent. The PORTRAIT Season, which runs from January to July 2019, comprises a diverse programme with a common thread. A thread that scrutinises and interprets complex lives, painting individual characters and revealing how the intricacies of appearance can change with differing perspectives.