Peter Shaffer News

Take a break from watching the news and look at the creativity still running rampant through the theater community. Featured this week are actor/musician Maks Kubis, who shares his coronavirus-inspired rendition of 'Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,' and playwright Claude Solnik, who brings us some poetic inspiration.

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the greatest theatrical works (non-musical) from 1920-2020; see if your favorites made the list!

In this time of uncertainty, the best one can do---and hopefully you've been doing so!---is to stay indoors and quarantine. While it's no news that many businesses and industries have been affected by the virus, an industry that has largely been impacted is certainly the arts. With cinemas and theatres temporarily closed, communities are unfortunately unable to attend the venues they frequent in order to be immersed in stories that help them escape reality for two hours. So, through the inability to review shows, I reached out to a friend of mind and collaborator, Alex Munro, whom I worked with on in #MeToo Monologues: Stories for Healing (2019) and the halted Where Words Once Were (2020), to not only do a spotlight but to also get some thoughts on what folks can do in order to help specifically theatres sustain themselves throughout these alarming, volatile times.

Daniel Radcliffe made his Broadway debut in the 2008 revival of Equus, costarring another Harry Potter veteran, Richard Griffiths. The revival, directed by Thea Sharrock, transferred from the West End, and attracted much attention for its nude scene, which was performed by a then 17 year-old Radcliffe. 

Syracuse Stage's stunning production of Amadeus under the always meticulous direction of Robert Hupp opened on Friday, March 13, 2020 and also closed on the same night due to the coronavirus outbreak. The decision to suspend the rest of the production's run was a choice that Hupp told the audience a?oewas the right thing to do.a?? Although Governor Cuomo banned gatherings of more than 500 people, the Archbold Theater seats 499 so the board technically had the choice. They made the right, yet very tough choice like so many theaters across the country.

Did artistic rivalry and jealousy lead to the murder of one of the world's greatest composers? This intriguing question is at the heart of Peter Shaffer's 1979 play a?oeAmadeus,a?? which Syracuse Stage presents March 11 a?" 29, directed by artistic director Robert Hupp.

The University of South Carolina Department of Theatre and Dance will present Amadeus, the landmark, Tony-winning play by Peter Shaffer, April 3-18 at Drayton Hall Theatre.

BWW Review: BLACK COMEDY at West End Productions

Ian McKellen is giving fans a peek into what his life was like while working on Lord of the Rings. He took to Twitter yesterday to share a link to some journal entries, during his time working on the film franchise over 20 years ago.

Casting has been confirmed for the English language World Premiere of La Cage aux Folles [The Play]. Jean Poiret's seminal classic spawned four blockbuster films and a Tony Award-winning musical. This new translation of the heartfelt farce by theatrical legend Simon Callow will star Michael Matus (Richard III a?" National Theatre and Headlong Theatre Tour, and King Lear a?" The Duke of York's Theatre) in the role of Georges and Paul Hunter (Founder of Told by an Idiot) as Albin. The cast is completed by Sarah Lam, Syrus Lowe, Peter Straker, Mark Cameron, Arthur Hughes, Simon Hepworth, Louise Bangay, Georgina Ambrey and William Nelson. It will be directed by Park Theatre's Artistic Director, Jez Bond, with a national press night on Wednesday 19th February at 7pm.

Theatre in the Round Players (TRP) continues its 68th Season with Peter Shaffer's one-act farce Black Comedy, in weekend performances from January 10 through February 2. 

For West End Productions' first show of its 2020 season of extraordinary British plays, Colleen Neary McClure takes up the director's baton to delight Albuquerque's theatre patrons with Peter Shaffer's brilliant farce, Black Comedy.

For Director Richard Clifford, Amadeus is more than just a modern classic; it is also a story of friendship. His relationship with the play goes beyond the Folger and directing this production, but back to England and the play's author, Peter Shaffer.

The setting for Richard Clifford's production of Amadeus, Peter Shaffer's classic, modern revenge tragedy could not be more skillfully assembled, and Clifford has created a taut, compelling evening for Folger audiences that remind us how shockingly contemporary the play's themes are.

Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts to host acclaimed British actor, Guy Masterson's solo performance of Dickens' A Christmas Carol on December 7, 2019

Genius and jealousy collide in Folger Theatre's production of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus. Richard Clifford (Mary Stuart and The School for Scandal at Folger Theatre), directs the Tony Award-winning “Best Play” set against the backdrop of the opulent salons and opera houses of 18th-century Vienna, examining the rivalry between court composer Antonio Salieri and the boorish but brilliant Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The production features Helen Hayes Award-winner Ian Merrill Peakes (Folger Theatre's Macbeth and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead) as the tortured composer Salieri, who finds himself living in the shadow of his musical rival Mozart (Samuel Adams).

Could Ian McKellen be headed back to Broadway? According to The New York Post, the actor says he'd consider bringing his one-man show, Ian McKellen On Stage, to the Great White Way.

Theatre Royal Bath Productions today announces three new premieres to open at the Ustinov Studio including Hansol Jung's Wild Goose Dreams which premieres next month (21 November to 21 December) with opening night for press on 27 November, Will Eno's Drama Desk Award winning play The Realistic Joneses (6 February to 7 March), followed by the latest drama from emerging playwright Kate Attwell, Testmatch (2 April to 9 May 2020), in a co-production with English Touring Theatre.

You Game takes the male role of Milo Tindle and shifts the character to become Bella Lanson, creating added challenges to the older character of Jack Guest (previously Andrew Wyke) on new levels of gender and patriarchy, on top of the twisty game play the original script is so famous for.