Clare Higgins News

Royal Court Theatre's new season showcases leading playwrights and actors alongside new writing talent.

What's on Stage is reporting that Academy Award winner Helen Mirren will be starring in a production of Jean Racine's Phaedra on the West End, directed by Nicholas Hytner.

Two productions of plays by one of the founding fathers of twentieth century American drama, Tennessee Williams, are set to hit the West End stage in a couple of months time. Thomas Lanier Williams drafted some of the most haunting plays ever written - plays full of the joy, pain and poetry of life that always touch at the heart of raw human emotion. And he created some of the all-time great theatrical roles for women. The West End has seen high quality reincarnations of some of those great female roles in the last few years with stunning performances by Frances O'Connor in 'Cat On A Hot Tin Roof', Victoria Hamilton and Diana Rigg in 'Suddenly Last Summer' and Clare Higgins and Jenny Seagrove in 'The Night Of The Iguana'. In 2007 London audiences will get the chance to see Hollywood star Jessica Lange in 'The Glass Menagerie' (which begins previews at the Apollo on January 31) and Zoe Wannamaker in 'The Rose Tattoo' (which commences previews at the Olivier on March 19).

Dirty Dancing sells £3m of tickets, Rufus Norris helms Cabaret revival with Bill Kenwright and controversy rages for Kevin Spacey. Plus news on Tom Stoppard and Paul Nicholls.

The nominations have been released for the 2006 Laurence Olivier Awards. The ceremony for this year's awards will take place at the Park Lane Hilton on February, 2006. Leading the pack this year are Billy Elliot with nine nominations, and Guys and Dolls with eight.

The 2005 Evening Standard Awards have been announced, with Billy Elliot and The Home Place winning the top awards

Simon Russell Beale, Kristin Scott Thomas and Mike Leigh are some of the artists to receive Evening Standard Award nominations

I Am My Own Wife comes to London as part of worldwide tour, Jeremy Irons and Woody Harrelson return to the West End and the Royal Court unveils its 50th Anniversary plans.